


An Excess of Kittens

by Salora_Rainriver



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: 2nd Most Oblivious Woman in All of Etheria, Alternate Universe, Angst and Humor, Catra Needs to Wear a Fucking Condom, F/F, Fake Character Death, Fake Lycanthropy, Feels, Freaky Alien Pregnancy, Heavily Implied Fursuit Sex, I Borrowed a Pregnancy Book Just For This Fic And It Fucking Shows, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, I Can't Believe it's Not a Crackfic, Implied Mating Cycles / In Heat, It Makes Way More Sense In Context, Its Not Eggs I Swear, Kittens, M/M, Most Oblivious Woman in All of Etheria, NOW FEATURING: eggs, Pregnancy, Premature Birth, Queerplatonic Seamista, References to Drugs, So Many Fucking Kittens, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unplanned Pregnancy, Water birth, breastfeeding but like actual breastfeeding and not the kink, crying while holding a ball of fluff, crying while holding an egg, diabetes-inducing angst, diary entries as a framing device, dubiously healthy coping mechanisms, extremely consensual consenting, giant polycule family is endgame, having to explain to a 12 year old monarch where babies come from, it was at that moment that catra knew: she fucked up, kitten fever, most oblivious nonbinary mercenary in all of Etheria, obviously, ominous cliffhangers, robotic family members, trans Catra, yes thats a thing now
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-18
Updated: 2020-06-14
Packaged: 2020-10-20 23:50:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 28,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20684000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salora_Rainriver/pseuds/Salora_Rainriver
Summary: I saw three separate fanartists draw catradora kittens, and my stupid lesbian brain went, "what if this, but for everyone?"Few months later, I find myself writing this monster of a fanfiction. It's about Catra accidentally knocking up half the princess alliance, and the terrifying yet hilarious consequences to come from that.(This is an AU. Plot strays away from the canon after the end of season 3.)





	1. Midnight Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Most Oblivious Woman in Etheria makes a shocking discovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to part 1 of the madness.  
Every single person who's read the excerpts of this shameless product of my catgirl-obsessed imagination has begged me to post it. so here i am. 
> 
> I've written so much of it already, but just so I don't overwhelm anyone, I'm posting it all bit by bit (it also gives me more space to refine things)  
expect like. weekly updates until I run out of pre-written chapters, lol.
> 
> anyways uh. ENJOY? whatever this is.

Adora woke up. It was likely only a few hours after midnight, the moon wasn’t even close to rising. She would have groaned and gone back to sleep, blaming her uneasy rest on something she ate, or maybe the fact that she’d been infected with that weird First Ones virus a few days ago, and, just like the last time she got infected, she felt weird and woozy and sick for days afterwards, especially at night. 

She would have. Except that the thing that woke her up happened again. She paused, quickly growing concerned, for that Thing was definitely not a Thing that should ever be happening. There was something so completely, horribly WRONG. It was a sensation that was entirely, horrifyingly, unnatural. 

And then it happened again. 

Something was inside her. And it was moving. It pressed out from inside her belly and shifted in subtle ways unnoticeable to anyone but Adora herself, because it was her body, and there was a Thing that was inside her body. She pressed a hand to her belly. It pushed against her hand.

She quickly got up and ran out of room, not even bothering to get dressed. 

==

“Adora. It’s late.”  
The queen looked down disapprovingly at the woman who had decided to not only wake her up, but also wake up Glimmer, Bow, the entire royal guard, the palace doctor, and the talking horse. The horse, miraculously, seemed completely okay with this rude awakening. Perhaps because he got bribed with apples. 

As for the woman herself, Adora seemed to be taken in a bout of hypochondria. “I know, I know, but I think there’s something really really wrong with me! Which is why I called the doctor.” 

The doctor definitely looked like he would rather be sleeping. He nodded, slowly, with all the professionalism of a man who’s used to responding to medical emergencies and non-emergencies. Angella sighed, but it seemed she didn’t even need to give Adora permission to continue. The woman was already on her speech about All the Things that Were Really Really Wrong With Her.

“At first I thought maybe this was just some bug I picked up in the Northern Reach, but while gathering everyone here, I realized that this might actually be way older than that, because my body’s been acting weird ever since, well… before the All-Princess Ball, really.”

Oh, by the grace of the twelve moons. Angella grimaced as Adora went on, now pacing around the throne room as she spoke.

“I thought maybe it was a She-Ra thing, or maybe a diet thing. I don’t know! It started with me waking up in the middle of the night really really sick to my stomach. Even threw up sometimes. Again, I didn’t tell you at the time, because I thought it was just because I wasn’t used to all the new food, and when I suddenly wanted really specific foods, you know, whatever! It’s just all this good food, why not dig in? And when I started getting a bit chubbier, especially around the waist, and uh… my chest got bigger… I figured that was just all the food I was eating. But now it feels like something’s moving around inside me! And I think I have a really big parasite and it’s probably going to eat me from the inside and I’m going to die and I think it’s messing with my body in all sorts of different ways because I haven’t had my period since forever, and-”

Angella facepalmed, and raised her other hand. The commanding gesture rendered the room silent. She took a deep sigh, one that certainly didn’t ease the poor girl’s nerves, and then spoke.

“Adora.” 

“Yes, your majesty?” 

“Have you had… relations with anyone, lately?”

“What? No, the last person I was with was uh…. In the Fright Zone. And that was really long ago.” 

Angella stares down at the younger woman, examining her body. No. that was impossible. Far too much time, and so little to show for it. But there’s no other explanation, really. The queen looked to the doctor. They were silent, but the look they gave each other confirmed to her that he was thinking the exact same thing. It was impossible, but there was no other possibility. So Angella pressed further. 

“You’re sure that was the last time you’d been with anyone?” 

Adora furrowed her brow. “Your majesty? Why does that matter?” she asked, continuing, “I mean, this is some kind of freaky bodychanging parasite, right? Why does it matter if I’ve been with anyo-” 

Angella frowned as she saw Adora slowly come to realize the implications of her symptoms. It seemed the rest of the court began to realize it as well.

“‘Freaky bodychanging parasite’ is certainly a way to put it.” murmured the doctor, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

“That’s. That’s ridiculous,” Adora laughed. A nervous laugh, really. “I can’t be- it’s been way too long, wouldn’t my belly be massive by now? We would’ve noticed a long time ago…”

Angella could only nod in agreement. “You’re right. We would’ve.”

Adora seemed almost relieved at Angella’s agreement. But the Queen was not finished. “However, all the symptoms are there. We’ll have to look into it. Better to be safe than sorry. The doctor will start making regular checkups, we’ll perform some tests, and we’ll know for sure. I’ll also call Castaspella over to Bright Moon. Her magic helped me greatly when I had Glimmer. If you are… well, if my suspicions are correct, you’ll want her here.” 

Adora is frozen in shock. She’s not sure what she’d do if this was true. The only person she’d ever been with like that was Catra… was she really... pregnant? with Catra’s child? But that’s impossible. The implications of such would be horrible. All this time, all the harrowing things Adora had been through… and all while carrying...

She simply nods. “Of-of course, your majesty.”

“Follow me. I’ll get you something to ease your stomach, and then you’ll get some sleep, will you?” 

“Of course. Thank you. Your majesty. Angella.”


	2. Without a Single Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adora gets some much-needed exposition.
> 
> #Freaky Alien Pregnancy #Its Not Eggs I Swear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Saturday isn't Tuesday. I just finished chapter 4, and I'm impatient. 
> 
> ... honestly, I don't think anyone actually complains about fics updating ahead of schedule.  
Anyways, I'll still be posting chapter 3 on Wednesday. so enjoy that one when it comes. it's about the side characters, and I'm particularly proud of it (and its length).

In spite of all the surging panic rushing through her head as a result of that night’s tentative diagnosis, Adora still crawled back into her spartan bed and tried to get some good shut-eye. She failed. The panic never really managed to subside, even as she closed her eyes and tried to think about happy things, like the time she and Swift Wind tried to get Frosta an appropriate birthday gift, but it turned out all she wanted was to take a ride on his back.

To make matters worse, by the time she actually managed to slip away into something approximating a peaceful rest, she was rudely awoken by an incredibly sick Shadow Weaver. 

And then Shadow Weaver told her she wasn’t from Etheria. Which obviously just freaked her out even more. As if she didn’t have enough to deal with, already. 

Not knowing what else to do, she flew on Swift Wind’s back straight to the Crystal Castle. She begged the ancient computer there for the truth. The truth of where she came from, and why she was here.  
She got her answer, sure, but it was more than she’d bargained for. She hadn’t really expected to see with her own eyes the portal that stole her away from her homeworld.  
As she stood in the emptiness following the vision of her arrival onto Etheria… Light Hope spoke. 

“Am I correct in my assumption that you are not aware of the subtle anatomical differences between you and your peers?” 

The sudden question surprised her. She turned back to the AI. “You… you mean between me and-”

“Glimmer, Bow, Glimmer’s aunt, Castaspella, your former fellow cadet, Lonnie, and most of the current princesses on Etheria? Yes. Up until now, you’ve imagined you were exactly like them, did you not?”

“... Well. Not exactly-”

“Except for the princess’ magic, of course. That is an obvious difference.” Murmured Light Hope, ever the extremely literal sort.

Adora nodded, and gave a little laugh. “Well, right. I mean, I’m She-Ra, and… Bow isn’t. Haha. Yanno?”

“Bow’s body is also entirely incapable of delaying its own pregnancy until locating an environment better suited to nourishing a developing embryo.”

It took Adora a moment to take in the information. A moment, and she still wasn’t fully sure she understood. Honestly, with all the stuff regarding Shadow Weaver and being an alien and her past, Adora had kind of forgotten about the pregnancy scare that night. Not that she forgot it forever. One single word, and it all came rushing back to her.

“.... Excuse me?” she asked. That was all she could think to ask.

“Adora. Precisely eight months, one week, and five days ago, around 5 minutes before midnight,” Light Hope intoned, “you’d managed to conceive. However, the air around the Fright Zone is particularly toxic, and thus, your body saw fit to delay the development of your children. So they did not grow beyond the most basic zygotic stage, and you experienced nothing out of the ordinary.” 

“Wait wait wait wait WHAT-” Adora held up her hands, begging Light Hope to stop, let her take this information in a bit at a time. She needed a time out. She needed space to absorb this information. Light Hope, of course, did not grant the poor girl any form of mercy.

“One month later, you’d found yourself in the floating land of Mystacor, which boasts remarkably clean air, rivers of fresh water enchanted with the power to heal minor wounds and fend off disease, and warm hot spring baths. Most importantly, however, Mystacor was the first time you’d felt truly safe, and you remained there for a period of time… long enough for your body to decide it was ready to carry a child.”

That’s it. Adora was broken. She didn’t want to believe it, but when an ancient computer tells you something, when your own body tells you something, it’s sort of impossible to ignore. Eight months. She’s been pregnant for eight months. With Catra’s kid, most likely. Almost definitely. And her body just hit the pause button on that until she stepped into a damn bath. And since Mystacor, every single strange thing she felt, from the food cravings to the sudden dizziness, was her body desperately trying to tell her to stop fighting because there was a baby, there was a fucking baby growing inside her, and of course, now it’s almost due, somehow, unless her species also stays pregnant for three years or something, and-

She started laughing. She couldn’t stop.

“Ha…. ha ha ha ha. That’s a. That’s a good one. Ha. really nice. Great. Yeah! Okay! I’m a pregnant alien! Hahahaha…”

“I don’t have a humor module, Adora. This is not a joke. You are carrying twins.”

Adora shut up then, staring up at the impassive, emotionless hologram, as her smile slowly vanished, and laughing off the stress didn’t really work. Twins. Twins???? TWINS?! Are you kidding? Was Light Hope going to drop any more bombs, or was that it? 

But that wasn’t it. Of course it wouldn’t be!

“The one you call, Catra, her kind develops far slower than most, at least initially. After the seventh month of pregnancy, however, they begin growing startlingly fast, though they will still be much smaller at birth, to compensate for the fact that they are often born in litters of two to four.”

And that was it. That was the final mystery of Adora’s condition. Seven months. Eight months ago, she was pregnant, one month later, she was in Mystacor… Adora did the math in her head, and Light Hope confirmed her results:

“you passed the seven-month milestone exactly one week and three days ago. The fetuses are healthy, in spite of everything you have faced thus far, but you should be careful about venturing on any further missions.”

Adora could only say one thing, then. “...They’re Catra’s.”

“Yes.” Light Hope said.

“There’s four of them.”

“Two. Is this knowledge distressing to you, knowing that your most dangerous enemy is also the-”

“Yes! Yes it is!”

“Alright. I will try my best to not mention it again. But please, Adora. Be careful. The fate of Etheria depends on-.”

Adora fled. She ran away from the luminous room, the labyrinthine hallways of the castle a blur as she raced along the path intimately familiar to her, the path that would lead her out of the castle. She found herself in the courtyard, she got on Swift Wind without a word, she flew off into the night sky, exhaustion now beginning to seep in. What else could she do? She was thrust into a destiny that made no sense to her, every answer only came with more questions, there was an impossibly high standard for her to meet, if she failed, all of Etheria would fall…

Oh, and she was pregnant. With the children of her “most dangerous enemy”... and her best friend. 

“You should be careful about venturing on any further missions.” 

Needless to say, this was not a good day. Or night. Or week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk I feel like some of my writing here was kinda dry. Then again, expository chapters are like that. 
> 
> Oh- I feel like this is gonna be important to clarify:  
Etheria is in a starless place. That includes Etheria's own sun. The planet's day/night cycle is dictated by a particularly bright moon (hence, Glimmer's homeland is called Bright Moon). 
> 
> This was confirmed by the staff in a Q&A session. So... I'm gonna be using some weird terminology whenever talking about the time of day! Try not to get too confused.


	3. The Moon on the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perfuma prepares to bring a new life into the world. Mermista’s rockstar lifestyle catches up to her  
#Implied Mating Cycles / In Heat #References to Drugs #Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms #Queerplatonic Seamista #Feels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW TUESDAY ISN'T WEDNESDAY....
> 
> *ahem* anyways, you know the drill, next week is chapter 4, featuring: Glimmer! That chapter's about twice as long as this one, so uh. I hope y'all enjoy it when it comes!

It was summer. Far too hot to stay out of the water. It was for that reason that, when Princess Perfuma went to visit the medicine woman, she found the old lady relaxing under a waterfall. It wasn’t a bad idea, frankly. The princess soon joined her. 

“Ah, Perfuma. I assume you’re curious about the results of my tests.” 

“Of course.” she said with a smile, concealing her worry. “The sickness has been getting better, but… something about it feels different than just a stomach bug!” 

“Mmmh, you’d be right. It’s greater than just a bug. Smaller than one now, but soon to be much, much bigger.” 

The princess braced herself on the wet rocks. Something about the woman’s cryptic words put her on edge. Not that it was unusual for the medicine woman to talk like this. She was always an odd one. But Perfuma couldn’t tell if this condition was good for her or bad, and she couldn’t imagine why it would ever be good. She was confused, to put it lightly, and her confusion concerned her.  
“Greater than…?” 

“Yes. indeed. One might call it a blessing.” 

The princess decided to voice her confusion, now. Perhaps the medicine woman thought she was being blunt…?

The woman laughed as she splashed her feet in the flowing water. “Oh, your majesty, but I forget that the signs aren’t clear unless you’ve seen them before… you’re with child, dear. I’d wager you’re already three months along, in fact! Though, if that’s true, then you’ve got a really odd kid in there...”

Perfuma wished she could say the news didn’t come as a shock to her, but the truth was… she nearly fell into the river. Her visit with the medicine woman was fairly short after that. She was prescribed a particular diet, certain medicines to aid the child’s development, and told that she’d need to schedule a few visits in the near-future. Checkups, really. 

In the weeks to come, Perfuma found herself quickly sliding into routine. Quietly, to herself, She counted them out, counted backwards to the time which she knew was when it all began. An ideal point in her cycle, an enemy caught on patrol. The heavy scent of Perfuma’s flowers, mixed with the acrid scent of heat. Perfuma probably shouldn’t have. She barely knew the woman. But at the time, it was clear that Catra was in need, and Perfuma has always been the compassionate sort. A request for water turned into a request for so much more, and the flower princess gladly agreed. She never imagined they would have been… compatible. A part of her didn’t even care. 

Oh, it was silly. But now it’s happened, and now she’s got a kitten inside her, maybe more, and Perfuma is shocked to find herself… eager to adjust. 

Alright, alright. She’ll admit it. She isn’t shocked at all. She’s always fantasized about being a mother, and even if the future is uncertain, she’s excited to begin, excited to meet her child face-to-face, name them, hold them, watch them grow. Maybe it’s an inconvenient time, but when has the universe ever been convenient? No, this is fine. This is better than fine. 

She’ll just need to make sure news of this doesn’t travel farther than it should. The last thing she needs is the rest of the alliance thinking her less capable just because of her child. Ha! She doesn’t need to get close to the enemy in order to hit them with flowers! She can cope just fine!

==

Mermista hadn’t expected this to happen.  
Okay that’s a total lie. She did. At some point, this was going to happen. Eventually, Mermista’s predilection for modulating her stress with wild partying was going to catch up to her. And now she’s got all the telltale symptoms of a pregnancy, and she’s gotta deal with the consequences of her actions.

Mind, she’s not completely irresponsible. She makes sure to use protection and check herself for infections whenever she’s with anyone. Even drunk off her ass, she makes sure to only fully let her guard down around people she trusts. Like her designated driver, queerplatonic partner, and all-around great (if sometimes infuriating) best friend, Sea Hawk. which makes this recent development all the more mystifying. 

Maybe the kid is Sea Hawk’s? Maybe??? Mermista can’t really tell what week she’s on, which is a problem, because she has no idea when it’s coming, or even when it’s going to start showing, or kicking, or any of that nonsense, and she also can’t really pinpoint when this all began, which would go a long way towards figuring out who’s the baby daddy. Or mommy. God, she really doesn’t know shit, does she? She really hopes it wasn’t that one catgirl with the Horde. The one Mermista had captured for all of ten minutes, only to find that the reason the girl was so distracted was because she was insanely and inexplicably horny. God, Mermista hopes it’s not her baby. That would be bad. And the princess isn’t sure she wants to go to a doctor about this, because then her whole kingdom would know what she did, and given that she already has a reputation that’s making it a bit hard for her subjects to respect her, and if her belly turns out to be full of kittens, she’ll have to sit there and explain exactly how she ended up with a Horde soldier’s babies? Yeah. That doesn’t sound like a fun time for her. Honestly, the public’s poor opinion of her is probably well-deserved, because Mermista is in the middle of fighting a war of survival against a powerful and terrifying conqueror who could potentially destroy all of Etheria, and really probably should not be spending most of her time blazed off her ass. It’s a bad habit. It isn’t healthy. She’s not nearly as responsible a ruler as her father was. She gets that, she understands, and she’s working on it. Really slowly. Bit by bit. She needs to wean herself off of this, find a better way to cope with her shitty life, and all her dumb mistakes.

So. yeah. She probably fucked up. No, she definitely fucked up. And she’s going to deal with it like a mature woman who’s half a year (maybe less who fucking knows) (fucking hell why is this so stressful) away from being a full fledged mother. Which is wonderful. Being a mom is great. Fantastic. Terrific. Totally not at all a nightmare looming over the horizon that grows bigger and bigger the more time passes, as it creeps inevitably closer and closer and- 

She grabs for the bottle of booze. Holds the opening to her mouth… and then remembers the baby. Right. She can’t drink anymore. She can’t smoke anymore. She can feel her arms trembling as she puts the bottle back. A tense moment passes. She walks outside the kitchen and shoves the bottle into a confused maid’s arms. Tells them “just get rid of it, I don’t really care how,” and then marches off in the vain hopes of finding something else to ease her nerves.

Anyways, she probably needs to start becoming a responsible young woman sooner rather than later, especially because this new development is putting a strain on her relationship. 

Previously, Sea Hawk was comfortable being her designated driver, staying away from the wild partying, spending quiet time with her afterwards, just the two of them, running about and helping Mermista with all the practical issues in her life. It was fine. It was stable. Even if she joked around about him just being her ride, it was always made in good fun, and a small part of her soul would light up whenever he sang praises of her oceanic beauty and leapt into her arms. It was fine. They were happy. 

But this baby’s changed everything. Now they’re questioning what they have together, this big unanswered question hangs in the air like a storm cloud, and she can see Sea Hawk is starting to feel like he’s being taken advantage of. That he’s being pushed away from Mermista’s life like some sort of… embarrassment. 

And that’s not true. He’s not an embarrassment, no matter how much Mermista teases him. He’s her lifeline. Her rock. He can burn down as many ships as he wants like the bisexual disaster that he is, but at the end of the day, there’s plenty Dragon’s Daughters, and he’s a damn good captain, he’s loyal, brave, capable, and he doesn’t ever drink, which is already leagues ahead of the walking shipwreck that is Mermista. 

Maybe… maybe she hasn’t really told him how much he really means to her? And he doesn’t know that he’s the anchor keeping her from drifting away into that terrifying storm brewing on the horizon? And.. and maybe he can keep up with a pack of shitfaced twenty-somethings, and she should go introduce him to her other friends the next time she needs a ride to a party. Or maybe she can ride him around sometime, just to shake things up. It’s not like she’ll be drinking anymore. Maybe she should offer him a room in Salineas palace. Maybe her room, even. Her bed’s big enough for two, and the last time they lived together, him just being there helped so much.  
It really helped them both out. 

The princess finds herself staring at the ceiling of her empty room, back pressed against the soft cushions of her bed. She hears the soft patter of rain outside. Her room feels oddly bigger now. Emptier. As though it’s anticipated the new soul that’s soon to enter her life, and it’s grown to accommodate the future occupant. Maybe even two future occupants. Probably. No, definitely.

Mermista can’t think of anyone else she’d want to come home to.

Sea Hawk’s goofy songs and boastful stories could keep a kid entertained for hours. He’s always off sailing, but never fails to come back home. He’s kind and funny and he’s got his life so much more in order, even if he doesn’t realize it yet, and he’d make a wonderful father. 

He knows that. Doesn’t he?

A sharp knock on the door wakes her up from her musings. A loud, melodic call briefly brings her back into them. “Meeerrrrrrmiiiistaaaaa! I’m baaaack, from the perilous frozen wasteland of the Northern Reach!”

Sea Hawk comes in before the princess can even raise her hand to open the door, happy and full of life as ever. He’s wet and dirty, probably from the snow, or the waves, maybe both, maybe he fell into the jaws of some beast before valiantly fighting his way out. It doesn’t matter. He’s returned, energetic and jolly as ever, and seems not even the slightest bit sore that Mermista left him behind to go off to another party.  
…. She’s been a really shitty partner, hasn’t she?

“Hey, Sea Hawk… look. Can we talk?” 

“Oh, absolutely, my beauty of the sea! We can talk about the daring and very very cool adventures of the dashing and handsome Captain Sea Hawk! Oh, so much had happened! I’ll need three songs just to tell it all!” 

She places a hand on his shoulder. Looking into her eyes, he stops talking. He can tell there’s something different in the princess’ expression. Something unexpected.

“No… I meant. About us.”

She’s made mistakes. She’s taken her partner for granted. Now’s the time to fix that. Make things better. For the three of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is honestly one of my favorite chapters, and I've had it written up for a while, now. Not many people in this fandom have really done a deep dive into Mermista's psyche, her doubts and fears and how and why she's so private with her feelings. I haven't really delved into them, either. There's so many tantalizing hints to her deeper anguish within the series proper, but I'd never had a real opportunity to explore them. This chapter turned out to be that opportunity, and as I was writing out Mermista's feelings about her pregnancy, mostly from the seat of my pants, I found myself surprised at what I'd discovered. The part where she says outright that she needs Sea Hawk to keep her stable was a particularly interesting twist, one that made me see both their characters in a whole new light.  
Also, the constant ocean metaphors. just. perfect.
> 
> Perfuma's part of this chapter is nice, too. It's got some depth to her character, too. Not like Mermista's part, but then again... Perfuma's always struck me as a simple kinda girl. Not in the dumb way, but in that she's just so open about everything, it's not hard to have her all figured out. She knows what she wants, and she accepts things as they come. Also, she is totally the mom type. So sayeth I, the girl writing a fanfic where everyone becomes a mom.


	4. Bright Moon's Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the one where Glimmer goes to a furry convention. Yes, this is a completely 100% serious and lore-compliant fic. Trust me.
> 
> #Catra Needs to Wear a Fucking Condom #Angst and Humor #I Can't Believe I Wrote This #I Can't Believe it's Not a Crackfic #Heavily Implied Fursuit Sex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ITS MIDNIGHT, I'M ALLOWED TO POST THIS. ITS ON SCHEDULE, TECHNICALLY.
> 
> *ahem*  
welcome to the final chapter of Part 1: Moonlight! Yes, the chapter titles were all named after celestial phenomena for a reason! Surprise!  
so uh. Enjoy.

Nighttime in the Crimson Waste was surprisingly cold. Glimmer found herself shivering underneath her blanket. She found herself feeling sick, too. Sick to her stomach. She was starting to suspect the reason for her illness. Really, she’d started to suspect it for a while.

It was kind of obvious, really. How in the world did Adora think the sickness, the cravings, the hormonal changes, and most egregiously, missing her period month after month, could ever be a sign of anything else? Glimmer noticed something was up on the second missed period! How could Adora, ever the punctual Adora, not notice at all? 

Glimmer stared up at the night sky. Three moons hung overhead. She couldn’t quite remember their names. Adora seemed, strangely enough, perfectly at ease as she snoozed by the dying campfire. Somehow, her growing belly wasn’t troubling her. Bow had huddled up right next to her, sleeping soundly. 

The fourth member of their party, however, was wide awake. 

“Can’t sleep, huh?” Huntara murmured, resting her back against a rocky outcropping. Glimmer rose to a sitting position, looked to the stronger woman, and nodded slowly. 

“What’s on your mind?” the former Horde soldier asked.

“What’s on yours?” Glimmer asked in turn. 

Huntara gestured over to Adora. “Your friend, the uh… the She-Ra. She’s looking kinda bloated.” 

Glimmer decided to be honest with the woman. She is their guide, after all, and Adora’s condition might complicate things, especially as far along as she is. “... We think she might be pregnant.” 

Huntara snorted, quietly so as not to wake the others. “Seriously. And she’s out here fighting?” 

“We can’t really afford not to. I mean, it’s a gamble-”

“It’s a hell of a gamble, sparklepuff,” 

“But we’ve really only gotten a month left, now, and based on, well, everything that’s happened to her, we’re pretty sure the babies are just about bulletproo-” 

“Wait.” Huntara said, brows suddenly furrowed. “The hell you mean you’ve only got a month left?”  
“Well. it’s nine months, normally. Right? So one month from now, they’ll be due.” 

This answer wasn’t really sufficient for Huntara. Of course it wouldn’t be. She stared at Adora in disbelief, and Glimmer knew exactly what was on her mind, even before she said it.

“There’s no way that woman’s eight months pregnant.” 

“Well, apparently some First Ones computer she talks to said these babies grow slow at first? They’ve been getting bigger by the day, though, so she’s real clo-”

“Magicats.” Huntara guessed. Correctly, which surprised the Bright Moon princess. She was silent then, as Huntara’s gaze turned to her, staring furtively as the moons continued their lazy trek across the sky. “They’re magicat cubs, aren’t they?” she asked again. 

“... yeah. Uh. How’d you know?” 

“Let’s just say I had some personal experience dealing with a poor little kitty, and leave it at that,” she said with a sigh. 

Some bat fluttered through the sky, searching for a cactus flower to drink from. Huntara spoke up, again. “D’ya know who gave her the cubs?” 

Glimmer wasn’t sure why she answered the question the way she did. Perhaps the effort of keeping this a secret from everyone around her was starting to become too much. She needed to tell someone. She needed to get it off her chest. So she said,

“Same girl who gave em to me.”

==

In retrospect, Glimmer made a lot of bad decisions that day. The first one being that she shouldn’t have attended that party. 

But let’s start from the beginning.

It was a bustling town, somewhere just about south of the Kingdom of Snows. It was nearing the heat of summer, which, this far north, meant little more than a pleasant breeze. It was certainly cool enough to go to a party in an absolutely ridiculous costume. 

Which was exactly what Glimmer had planned to do. 

See, the people here had a funny little harvest tradition (apparently, “harvest season” was the middle of summer for them): host a masquerade ball in the town hall. And if one thought perhaps this ball would be filled with extravagant gowns and elegant half-masks… well. They’d certainly get a shock as they walked in. 

Before she made for the ball, Glimmer had checked over her outfit. It was supposed to be a tyrosaur, and though she didn’t really put as much effort into the costume as she should’ve, she hoped it was recognizable. She didn’t put all that effort into finding scale-pattern fabric for nothing! Turning herself around in the mirror, she soon realized that her “cavewoman aesthetic” looked a bit skimpy, especially with how it showed the thighs… well, whatever. She sighed and put on her mask, which was a decent effort at portraying a snarling reptilian maw with only a hunk of wood, some paints, and a carving knife. Glimmer didn’t think that one year of whittling lessons would have actually come in handy. 

Her pride, however, quickly deflated as soon as she entered the ball, and saw someone else in a tyrosaur costume. A tyrosaur costume that was a hundred times better than hers. They complimented her “rustic look”, but she knew in her heart of hearts that the stranger’s costume was amazing and hers was trash and they were just being nice to her. Still, it wasn’t like she was the only one with a kinda trash costume. The people here ran the whole gamut of talent and effort, interpreting the party theme of “furry fun” in a myriad of different ways. The only thing they had in common was that she couldn’t see anyone’s face.

Which sucked. Because she was here to try and find a force captain. 

Frosta had gotten word from her scouts that some travellers from the Fright Zone were asking a lot of suspicious questions in these parts, which sure read to Frosta like some sort of espionage mission. What they were after, the Rebellion didn’t know, and that’s what Glimmer was here to find out. She was doing some… counter-espionage. Or, she was trying to. But now she had no clue how to start. 

And a few hours later, she’d still not overheard anything, or even figured out who among the crowd was the Horde spy.

But then she saw Catra. 

Well, to be clearer, she saw someone wearing what they claimed was a costume of “the ancient Magicat Queen, Cyra of whateverthefuck, who had the power to turn into a big ol kitty”, but that lion-headed costume sported a maroon sleeveless shirt-and-pants outfit with noticeable tears on the legs, distinctive orange stripes on orange-brown fur, an awfully familiar dark brown faux-fur mane, and finally, the smoking gun: Atop the head of the lion mask was a “crown” that looked the spitting image of Catra’s weird helmet thing that she literally never takes off. Ever.  
It was undeniable: this bitch came dressed as Catra. But even more catlike than usual.

Glimmer stared in shock and disbelief as the not-catra explained how she got the idea for her (admittedly really cool-looking) costume to some surprised guests - of course the inspiration was Force Captain Catra, second-in-command to Lord Hordak himself. That much was obvious to anyone with eyes.

“I mean, hate the Horde all you want, but that outfit was styling, am I right?” she said, and Glimmer could swear she heard a smirk in that voice.

Okay, the tyrosaur thought. That settles it. This girl is either an incredibly cheeky Horde spy, or a sympathizer. There’s literally no other possible explanation. This was BLATANT. 

So clearly, Glimmer took it upon herself to approach the feline. Yes, feline. She was bragging about that’s her own tail underneath the costumed tail, and that’s how she could move it so realistically. Which was cheeky to the extreme… whoever this person was. 

Glimmer’s first mistake was attending the party at all.  
Her second mistake was approaching the cheeky girl in the Catra costume.  
Her third mistake was to try and flirt some information out of her.  
Her fourth mistake was agreeing to join not-catra in her room. 

At the time, it seemed like a decent plan, though if Glimmer was being very honest with herself, she mostly went along with it because there was some deep sinful desire inside her that was really curious to know how this would work. You know, with the costumes and all. Well, she got her answer. 

Kissing was off the table. They wouldn’t take off their masks, as such would possibly qualify as social suicide... Though that didn’t stop “catra” from nuzzling her mask’s nose against the snarling tyrosaur maw and making a number of obnoxiously wet kissing sounds. 

“Mmmh, oh yes, mmmm, that tastes so good…” 

“Seriously?” The tyrosaur turned her wooden maw away from the affections, crossing her arms as she lay down on the bed. The lion-girl snickered, booping that adorable snoot. “Come on, it was a good joke.”

“I’m not dignifying that with an answer”

A fluffy paw stroked the side of her head. “What’s on your mind, little lizard?” 

Glimmer figured she might as well ask. “I’m just wondering if you’ve heard about the Horde spy that’s been snooping around lately.”

If that mask’s ears could move, Glimmer was sure they’d be flat against her head right now. The feline within the costume growled softly… before quickly composing herself. “Come on, I don’t wanna talk politics,” she purred, running a fluffy paw down that scale-pattern fabric, “I wanna see what’s under that loincloth~”

==

Glimmer didn’t really wanna explain the entire embarrassing series of events that was her failed attempt at espionage, so when Huntara gave her a surprised look that said “you and Adora fucked the same girl?!”, the princess simply explained, 

“There was a masquerade ball. We didn’t recognize each other at first, and by the time we did, it was too late and the deed had been done.”

==

Glimmer didn’t want to say she enjoyed the experience, but… she kinda did. The stranger really knew how to please a woman, and not even the restricted mobility of her full-body costume could stop her from showing the half-naked tyrosaur a good time. After they’d finished, Glimmer found herself drunk on the pleasure. That was surely the reason why she thought it was a great idea for the both of them to take off each other’s masks so they could stare into each others’ eyes. 

And somehow, the stranger was love-drunk enough to agree. 

But then the masks came off. Catra looked at Glimmer and Glimmer looked at Catra. Their mouths agape, it took them both a very long time to even say anything. 

“... I can’t believe you dressed up as yourself!” Glimmer shouted.

“I can’t believe you’re a halfway decent costume designer!” Catra shouted back.

“We are NEVER. Speaking about this. To anyone!”

“Agreed!”

==

“You had unprotected sex with a total stranger. Who turned out to be the target you were hunting down in the first place.” Huntara said flatly. 

“Yeah, I made a lot of mistakes that night…” 

“So are you gonna tell blondie here that you fucked her ex three months ago?” 

Glimmer sighed, and shook her head. She was sure Adora didn’t need that kind of stress in her life right now. 

“... you gonna tell anyone?” 

That made Glimmer pause. ‘Anyone’ meant her mom, and she knew what her mom would say. She knew what they all would say: that, as usual, Glimmer was too reckless, and put herself in serious danger, and how could she even think any part of it was a good idea, and no way is she going out into battle at all, not until she stops being pregnant, however long that takes. 

Telling anyone meant she’d have to stay on the sidelines, away from the battle. Sequestered away in her room in her palace. The longest grounding Glimmer would ever experience.

She shook her head. 

“They’re gonna know eventually,” Huntara murmured, “you got more time than most, but that time’ll fly fast, and before you know it, you’re gonna have a litter of mewling kittens in your arms, and everyone’s gonna know what you did that night.” 

Glimmer knew that. She just needed time. She was going to delay that announcement for as long as she possibly could. She wasn’t going to tell her mom anything. Not until she needed to. 

==

But maybe Glimmer should have told her mom. Maybe then, their fight wouldn’t have ended the way it did. Or maybe it would have been worse.  
But now Queen Angella is trapped in a pocket between dimensions, and she doesn’t even know about her own grandkids. 

In the aftermath of her (admittedly very successful) rescue of Adora from the Fright Zone, Glimmer sits underneath the Moonstone. Thinks about how she was the only daughter of the queen. She’s the next in line… No, she’s the queen, now. She’s the one who will need to sit on Bright Moon’s throne. And she’ll have children of her own, soon.  
And she won’t have mom around to help her.  
Glimmer finds herself sobbing under the moonlight. It’s late in the afternoon. Everyone’s out for lunch, most likely. Glimmer excused herself. Her stomach was acting up. She’ll likely make up for the skipped meal by binging on forest hare soup or something. 

Only three months, and she’s already falling into the routine of eating for two. Three? Four? Whatever. The point is, she’s already gotten used to the prospect of being a mother. She never thought she’d be up to such a task. Glimmer sits down on the bench, staring at her feet. An orphan and a mother. She starts sobbing again.

“Glimmer? Are you still up here?” murmured a familiar voice. It wasn’t her mom. It was Aunt Casta. Glimmer looked up at her, tears streaming down her face. Immediately, the older woman dropped down to eye level and looked her niece in the eyes and asked her a single question:  
“What’s wrong? Where’s your mother?” 

So Adora didn’t tell her yet. Maybe Glimmer should tell her. She deserves to know. 

But Glimmer doesn’t tell Aunt Casta where her mom is. Not immediately. Instead, the first words that come out of her mouth are: 

“I’m pregnant.”

Whelp. Now the cat’s out of the bag. 

It’s not like Glimmer will be doing a lot of adventuring for the foreseeable future. It’s time for her to grow up.


	5. The Shadow Under the Trees

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: Entrapta’s excited about her future kittens, and nothing’s going to bring her down!  
#Premature Birth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna put up some content warnings for this one: 
> 
> first of all, the gay scene here's just a touch more mature than the goofy scene last chapter. nothing explicit, I ain't writing outright smut here, but don't be surprised when Entrapta starts getting handsy.
> 
> second of all, this chapter's using a rather unusual style of narration, in that large chunks of it are written entirely in Entrapta's audio logs! 
> 
> third of all... okay, this one's the actually serious content warning:   
The angst just got real in this one. Season 3 is canon in this fic, and so are all the ramifications of Catra's actions. Entrapta's not going to be in a good place, and there will be discussions of death, isolation, and hopelessness.   
No dead babies in this chapter, though. So breathe easy, everyone who was worried about that tag. you've got time.
> 
> that being said: enjoy this chapter! Scorpia's is coming, as soon as I edit that one out to my liking.

The Battle of Bright Moon was a failure. But that’s okay! The Horde had learned so much from its failure, gotten closer than it ever had before to an absolute victory! Hordak himself was sure to congratulate Entrapta for her work (and the work of Force Captains Catra and Scorpia, of course), and the princess felt that praise deep in the core of her soul. She liked praise, she decided. 

By the time Catra and Scorpia returned to the Fright Zone, night (a genuine nighttime) had already fallen. by the time their meeting with Hordak had ended, it was almost certainly bedtime, so Entrapta found herself alone in the Black Garnet chamber, making repairs on the equipment she'd built around the runestone, gathering what little data she could from the busted instruments. At least... she expected to be alone.

She hadn’t heard Catra’s voice, and she had no warning for when the feline woman tackled her to the ground, purring up a storm. For a moment, Entrapta was silent, slowly processing the sensory information. The warm body on top of her, the low, pleased rumble that was Catra’s purr, the hands on her hair. Oh, those hands. Entrapta found it hard to focus. The feline was really laying it on, this time, really making sure that Entrapta knew she’d done a good job today. 

“Oh, Hello, Catra! I thought you were asleep.” 

“Asleep? How could I be asleep? I’m Hordak’s right hand, now!” Catra was happy, giddy, even, and her voice was manic in a way that was unfamiliar to the science princess. “This is amazing! We almost won! And it’s all thanks to you…” she nuzzled into the nape of Entrapta’s neck, purring loudly. “thank you...”

Entrapta’s hair had always been somewhat sensitive. It had to be, how else would she be able to perform fine motor tasks with it? Sure, it had its downsides. She needed to suppress her hair’s senses if she needed to trim it, and anyone tugging on her long pigtails was far more painful than usual, but for entrapta, the benefits much outweigh the downsides. And one excellent benefit of her sensitive hair was that having someone tug their fingers through it felt so good, almost overwhelmingly so.

And that’s not even mentioning the praise that flowed off Catra’s tongue. Entrapta struggled to pay attention to it. The sensations were still overwhelming to her, even as they shifted position, Catra on her lap now, hugging her, - Entrapta’s never been hugged before - purring right next to her ear, tail swishing from side to side in clear excitement. 

“This is only the beginning, you know,” Catra said. “Think about everything we could do, all the things we could achieve- places we could conquer." Her claws scraped against the soft skin at the nape of Entrapta’s neck. An accidental brush. It didn’t hurt. It felt almost as good as Catra’s praise. “Thank you.” 

Something stirred inside Entrapta, a certain… affection. It often did, during these petting sessions, but now, the princess decided she was going to do something about it. “You already said thanks,” she murmured, a hand wandering to Catra’s waist, her hair curling around the feline’s body on instinct. Catra shivered. She stiffened. Her tail stood on end. It was clear she hadn’t expected that response.

“I uh, I guess I did...” she said, quietly, almost a whisper. It made Entrapta pause. But Catra wasn’t recoiling from the touch. In fact, she was leaning into it. Staring into Entrapta’s eyes, her expression oddly hesitant. “But I meant it, ya know?” Her voice was softer now, as if she was melting under the princess’ caress. Her heart was beating faster now. 

That just made Entrapta even more eager to continue. “I know,” she said matter-of-factly, as her hands felt around for the clasp of Catra’s belt, eager to strip off that uniform and begin a proper investigation of her companion’s-  
Oh, right. People are usually self-conscious about being stripped down and examined. Entrapta pulled back just a bit, just enough to give the poor girl some space. “Wait… am I allowed to…?” 

Catra didn’t give her the chance to finish that thought. 

==

“Fright Zone Exploration Log, hour… hrm. Maybe I shouldn’t title these as exploration logs, anymore. It’s been over a month since my successful experiment with the Black Garnet, an action that ensured I would stay with the Horde. These would be simply… Fright Zone Logs, wouldn’t they? 

Oh! Speaking of months. It’s also just about that time of the month! Actually, it’s past that time. And nothing’s happened. Which is concerning, for sure! But I can’t be too hasty and jump to conclusions! After all, maybe I’m just… really late?

In any case- Hordak’s inner sanctum! So fascinating, and yet I’m not allowed to go in there, and yet I want to, and yet… hrm. Let me start this again...” 

\--

“Fright Zone Log, Day… Day two. Well, technically, it should be Day Sixty, but if I titled it that, I’d go looking for the logs from days one to fifty-nine, and I won’t find them, because, fool that I was, I titled them exploration logs!

But that’s besides the point: Hordak’s allowed me to use his inner sanctum! It turns out, my unique expertise is invaluable to his work on portal technology, and he’s assigned me to assist him on the project, indefinitely! Right now, I’m working on moving most of my lab equipment over to his sanctum, and- hrk!

Right. That. I’ve had the strangest of stomach bugs, lately! I always get sick right to my stomach in the mornings, but only the mornings, and they’re always accompanied by the most peculiar and disorienting lightheadedness! On top of that, I’m finding lots of foods intolerable, not just the ones that are too big to eat in a single bite! Hrm, I hope this has nothing to do with my unusually late cycle…”  
\--

“Fright Zone Log, Day Thirty-Seven. I don’t think I can deny it anymore. I’m pregnant. Obviously, this information is never ever to leave my lab, especially considering that there’s really only one person who I was with who could have done this to me… Well, there’s only one person I was with, period! 

Ah… and such a short affair, too! At first, I thought maybe there was some sort of romance blooming between us, but it seems that Catra was just proud of our mutual accomplishments, caught up in the euphoria of her promotion. Nowadays, the stress of her new job seems to be getting to her. 

Disappointing failed affairs notwithstanding, I think I’ll be keeping the child. I haven’t gotten too sick to tolerate it, and even if the prospect of future motherhood is sometimes-scary, it’s… exciting, too. I’m curious to see what they’ll look like, at the very least!”

\--

“Fright Zone Log, Day One Hundred Eighteen. Catra’s returned from her espionage mission, and though she doesn’t want to talk about it, she has confirmed that we will be setting out for the Northern Reach as soon as we’ve set up a proper outpost there! This is excellent news, and Though she’s said it’ll probably take about a week or so before we can actually settle in there and begin digging in earnest, I… maaaay have been a bit overzealous and packed my bags already! 

Today is also relevant for another reason: I can now confirm that I’ve passed the twenty-week milestone of my gestation, and the morning sickness is completely gone! Given that I’m already so far ahead, I’ve also gone ahead and covertly self-administered an ultrasound. They’re very very small, of course, almost too small to see, but it seems that I’ll be having three children! Three! How fascinating! Such a feat is obviously very rare in my own kind, but something tells me it’s not that rare in Catra’s kind. I may need to look it up, especially because they’re just so hopelessly small, to boot! I wonder when they’ll start getting bigger, because I would be shocked if they remained this small all the way until childbirth!

… imagine if they were! Oh no, that’d make things so much more complicated. I should rework the cradle just in case something like that happens!”

==

Entrapta didn’t really bother to tell anyone. They might want to interfere! A warzone was no place to raise a family, after all… but what did they know? Entrapta wasn’t really a soldier, anyways, so who cares! She’d just have to make her lab a bit more kid-friendly when the time came! That was easy!

… Course, she couldn’t hide them for long. Yes, hiding the children was shockingly simple, given that they seemed to be remaining incredibly small even into the sixth month, but given that Entrapta simply couldn’t stop herself from recording each and every week of her own pregnancy, and it was inevitable that Hordak’s little spy would eventually catch one of said sessions. He decided to spring it on her the day after he sent Catra off to the Crimson Wastes: 

“Entrapta… you’re not sick, are you?”  
“Sick? Hrm. Depends on the definition, I suppose. I have been experiencing many symptoms akin to sickness, yes, but there’s many who would consider the condition a blessing!”  
“...How would you define it. This… condition of yours?”  
“Surprising. Unexpected. Terrifying. Exciting!”   
Hordak’s listening-bot piped in at this time, scurrying onto entrapta’s work-table and repeating the log she’d recorded that morning: 

“...marking the twenty-eighth week of my gestation. The fetuses are seemingly healthy, almost fully developed, and they’re beginning to grow in size! The rate of growth seems to be almost exponential, but even so, I predict the trio will still be unusually small at birth...” 

Hordak raised a brow, but instead of the flustered and nervous reaction he had expected from Entrapta, she’d merely smiled harder.   
“Ahhhh, this was a test, wasn’t it? You’d heard me talking about the Emily 2.0s earlier, and you wanted to know if I would lie to you about them!”

“.... erm. Yes,” the dark lord stammered. “You’ve... Passed?”

“Well, it’s not a bad thing. And besides, it’s not like we could stop it now, the time to initiate an abortion process was about three months ago! Now, we’ll just have to live with it, won’t we?” 

“I won’t let you keep them…”

“Why not? It’s not like they’re going to be any sort of impossible burden. I’ve got robots to help! Lots of robots!”

“... hrmph. Suit yourself, I suppose…”

And Hordak left it at that. They moved on to discussing the portal, as usual. Entrapta found herself grateful for having a lab partner who understood. Or… at least she thought he understood.  
No, he probably gets it. He’s just definitely not fully aware of what happened! Right! Yes…  
That’s right. Hordak still cares. Hordak is still her friend. Entrapta is not…. She’s not alone right now.   
She’d left the Fright Zone some ten minutes ago. She was restrained, of course, but restraint was useless against her hair, and this ship was unmanned. Unmanned by design.  
“Exile log, minute ten, as of the start of the recording,” Entrapta dictated as she examined the top deck of the stripped down, nearly-decrepit vessel. 

“It seems as though the standard protocol is to send the prisoner alone toward Beast Island on an outdated transport ship, just days away from being scrapped for junk metal, with only enough fuel to make the trip. Once. Pretty efficient, I suppose. The ship is flying itself, there’s no need for a pilot, and no chance for escape. They didn’t even pack rations.”

She frowned. She kept investigating.

==

“Exile log, hour three. I’ve successfully managed to open the hatch of the autopilot computer, and here, I would be able to manipulate its course directly. Though… that does not mean I can now take it wherever I want to go. Because there’s no need for an actual pilot, all the monitors and gauges have been outright removed. All that remains are the ship’s internal sensors, and without a functioning monitor, I would be flying blind… no, worse than blind. I don’t even know which wire controls what, and the only way to learn would be through trial and error. Given the potential disaster that could arise from even the slightest shift of course, and also, I don’t know anything about piloting, I can’t risk that. The best I could do is force a crash landing…. Aaaand now the ship’s over water. So much for that plan!”

“Exile log, hour five. I’ve never been this far out to sea. There’s no longer any visible land, in any direction around me. I think I felt the ship change course, but I can’t be sure. My only metric of navigation is the moons. I think we’re flying west? Northwest? It depends on how far north or south we are already. Ah, the orbital tilts. A blessing and a curse, rolled into one!”

“Exile log, hour six. And a half. The bright moon’s set. I’m starting to realize I have no idea how long this trip will take. Does Beast Island even exist, or is just a codeword for “send the prisoner on a derilect ship that’ll keep travelling west over the open ocean until it finally runs out of fuel and meets its watery grave”? I could try to turn the ship around and make it travel eastward, but I’m not even sure if it has enough fuel to make the trip back to shore. I can’t really check the fuel tank without opening it and releasing all sorts of toxic fumes, and that wouldn’t be healthy for the Emilies. I wonder how the original Emily is doing. I hope they haven’t scrapped her.”

“Exile Log, hour six and three quarters. Do robots grieve?”

“Exile Log, hour seven. Can Hordak read First Ones writing?”

“Exile Log, hour seven. Wait. I already made an hour seven. Whatever. Does Catra remember? Because I remember. I miss her. She hurt me, and… I still miss her.”

“Exile log, hour ten. I’ve only had around three hours of sleep. I see land ahead. It must be Beast Island. I’m here. End of the line. Normally, I would be excited to see something new. But now I’m just sad. I’m… alone. I’m so ... hopelessly alone.”

“Hour thirty-seven. I think the beasts of this island are mechanical in nature. There’s enough scrap here for me to rebuild my lab, but I can’t find much to eat, and it all tastes awful. This may… this may be my last log. Catra? Hordak? … Adora? If you’re listening, somehow, maybe you came to find me, and I’m not here anymore, just this… little. Tiny. Recorder device... I’m sorry. I wish I could’ve stayed longer. There’s so many things I wanted to learn. So many people I… wanted to meet. Maybe one of them would like me. But it wasn’t meant to be, was it? I wasn’t meant to have friends. And I belong here. Alone. With no one to listen to… it’s. Wet. Oh. Oh dear. Those are the contractions. It’s. Begun. Hasn’t it? This isn’t right. It’s way too soon. Not for a few- ow. It hurts. I didn’t think it would hurt like this. Why does it hurt so much? I’m sorry, Emily 2.1, 2.2, 2.3. I set up a… a little corner for you all. Warm and soft and safe and… you’re never going to see it. You might not… even get to have your real names. I was going to get you more permanent ones. When you got a little older. I had a whole list of potential options, but I had to know how you’d turn out, first. But I guess now we’re just going to be dead! Life’s full of surprises, isn’t it?

Hey there, monster! You found me. Please make it quick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't tag this fic "major character death" it's okay she's not dead. just trust me (especially because this is the last we'll hear of her for a *while*, oops), Entrapta is alive. she's gonna be okay. She's cheated death once before, and she'll do it again.
> 
> also, as a reward for making it through this angstfest of a chapter, enjoy some kittens that are almost as longhaired as the Emilies will be!  
https://images.reference.com/amg-cms-reference-images/prod/can-tell-kittens-long-haired_60f9b0529e1c31c3.jpg?width=760&height=411&fit=crop  
https://www.thesprucepets.com/thmb/sDERTuWoHYkziQ_2etTVtbW0ozA=/450x0/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/26068441_1539928369377175_7156817147648278528_n-5a4d48c9f1300a00374bfb14.jpg  
https://www.petclassifieds.us/user_images/3481098.jpg
> 
> (can someone please tell me how to embed hyperlinks or images? also how do i do italics and bold? I'm really bad at html)


	6. Fallen Heir of the Dark Stone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia reminisces about the beginning of her troubles.
> 
> #oops I need to add new tags #guess this was inevitable  
#diary entries as a framing device #extremely consensual consenting #diabetes-inducing angst #yes thats a thing now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Realized I'm way better at first person than third person. Consider the previous chapters to have been sort of a... prologue, I guess? yeah. Anyways, the next few chapters are coming from Scorpia's perspective. I'm doing a framing device for this part, but don't expect me to do it for everyone. Don't worry, though. I'll make it very clear whenever the perspective character changes. 
> 
> I know what I'm doing. it's for the good of the fic.  
anyways, enjoy!

==  
10 Frostfall, 1020

Well. A lot has happened since you saw me last, diary. Honestly, I thought I’d lost you! In all the chaos of the Crimson Waste mission, the portal, Entrapta’s exile, my sudden illness, leaving the horde, I just… forgot about you.  
Oh, there’s so much I need to tell you about! I should start from where I last left off. I think it was almost two months ago. Catra was upset about something, and I told you I was determined to fix it. 

Well… my plan worked. Wrap her up in a little purrito until she finally stopped hiding whatever secrets she was keeping under her big fluffy mane! Turns out, uh… it was a big secret. A dangerous secret. And I was going to protect that secret with her very life. Why would I not? Catra was everything to me… she was my everything. She was strong, and clever, and she was hurting real bad and I was going to hold her tight in that big warm soft blanket, and I was gonna make sure everything was okay!

And, slowly, she started to relax, yanno? And she was leaning in and her eyes were fluttering closed and I realized that it was late. So i asked her, 

“You want me to stay the night?” 

And would you believe it? She said yes! Golly, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself, I just let her crawl out and grab her pajamas and go ahead and change. I sorta felt sheepish, really, and I looked away, and then decided I should get myself changed too, but I didn’t want to make my wildcat uncomfortable or anything, so I said I was gonna go change in the bathroom, and then-

And then she grabbed me. Pulled me in, cupped my face in those soft fluffy hands of hers, said something real soft, and if I’ll be honest, I wasn’t paying attention, and then she kissed me. Like. Kissed, kissed me. Right on the lips. Like her life depended on it.

And- wow, let me tell you, I was shocked. I didn’t think she’d even noticed how I felt about her, let alone felt the same way! And then she started making that adorable purring sound, and I just melted and- yeah, I kissed her back. Sure, it was a really unexpected turn of events, but it was like a pleasant surprise. And you know I’d do anything for Catra, so of course I’d return the favor. I think I ended up pulling her in for a big ol hug, started kissing everywhere I could reach, and it felt real special, and I pulled back to take a good long look at her beautiful face, but then she started crying, so I just went back to try and kiss those tears away. 

And then I felt her claws on my back. I think she was trying to take off my uniform, or something, and that was when I had to pull back, Diary. It was going a bit too fast, and something was starting to worry me - 

But then she looked at me with this gaze that’s honestly making me heat up just thinking about it, and she said, “Come on, princess. Don’t you want me?”

And I had to step back. I… I said no. Not like this. Let me tell you, it took every fiber of my being not to give in right there and then. There she was, curled up in my arms, and she wanted me, she was ready but… it wasn’t right, you know? She was just broken and sad and she wanted someone to make her feel better, and I didn’t want to take advantage of that. But she looked kinda sad when I said that. Like I was rejecting her, which obviously wasn’t true, and I said that, I said, look, I wanna, but not right now, okay? But I’m here for you, and always will be, and she seemed a little better after that, and I ran off to change, but real quick, cause I didn’t want her to worry, and of course, I came back, and I gave her a big ol hug when I got back, and we climbed into bed, and just. 

I just held her. Running my claw through her unruly mane, holding her close, listening to her purrs. It was… it was amazing. I wanted to stay like that forever. And, yanno, it was like I could feel her just, really slowly, start to relax. So I asked her if she was feeling better now. She nodded.

But I wasn’t really feeling all that better, and I think she noticed, a bit. The thing was, I wasn’t sure if… well, if she’d actually liked me like that, or if I was just a warm body to cling to. So I… I asked her if she… wanted me. 

And she sounded a lot more confident this time. I think I asked her like three times, struggling to take off my clothes. We asked each other the same question, really. Are you sure you want me? And, we both said yes, but, looking back.

I don’t think “want” was the word I wanted to use. 

But then she stroked my tail and climbed on top of me, and there she was, completely naked and absolutely gorgeous, and words didn’t really matter anymore. The only thing on my mind in that moment was that I wanted to give my wildcat everything she could ever want. Forever.

But I couldn’t. I couldn’t hide that secret from Hordak in the end. I failed her, but I vowed not to fail her again. So I stuck by Catra, when Hordak decided exiling her was too lenient, sending her off on a suicide mission into the Crimson Waste. And she wasn’t happy, then, until we got ourselves a posse, that is. Then she was really happy. Truly happy. The happiest I’d ever seen her. The mission went better than we ever thought it could. We’d captured She-Ra, we had the key Hordak needed, and in our celebration, she’d even raised a toast to me, to me! And then she looked back to me with this look that said so much, and it felt like… like love. Or maybe that was just the alcohol.

This was it. This was heaven. A life spent with Catra truly happy, with me happy because Catra was happy. We’d be rich. We’d be safe. We’d rule the Crimson Wastes. We’d forget all about the war, about Adora, and we’d focus on each other, the only two things on Etheria that really mattered. 

And that night, we… made love again. And I asked her, why not just. Not go back to the Fright Zone? Let Adora go, or whatever, let them have their war.

I want to say she really considered the offer, diary, that for a moment, no matter how brief, she wanted to say yes, but I… I don’t know. I really don’t know, because we went back.  
It wasn’t meant to be, was it? Somehow, the anger slithered its way back into Catra’s heart.

I didn’t want to go back. I had to. I couldn’t leave Catra behind. And Hordak’s portal turned out to be a terrible plan, and Entrapta wanted to warn Hordak about it, but Catra, she... she attacked Entrapta. She did it without a second thought. From what Entrapta said, that portal had the potential to kill us all, and Catra didn’t care. 

And I don’t think I’ll ever forget what she said to me that night, aiming her stun baton at me.

“You wanna be next?”

That’s what she said.

And I looked at the stun baton, aimed right at my heart, and I looked into her eyes. I didn’t see any love in them. Not anymore. 

Perhaps not ever.

And maybe I made a mistake. Maybe I was the rebound all along. That portal tore apart our reality, and I don’t know how Adora made things right, but whatever she did couldn’t fix this dark little pit in my stomach that was eating away at me. 

The days were kind of a blur, then. I kept wondering, did my wildcat ever love me? Or was I just this imperfect shape to fill the empty space in her heart where Adora once stood. Hell… was Adora even that important to her in the first place? Or was she just another prize to be won? Some trophy that Catra lost? 

The official story was that Entrapta had brought the princesses into the Fright Zone. That Hordak was a fool to ever trust a princess. I hated it. She was just a princess. Just like the rest of them. Was that it? Was that all I was? I didn’t know who Catra was anymore, who Hordak was, and I still don’t know whatever happened to Entrapta, all alone there on Beast Island. Oh god, Entrapta…

\--

And then to make things worse, I got sick. At first, I thought it was just the grief. But it wasn’t. It was different, and I started to realize that weird pit in my stomach was a literal pit. I was hungry, and I couldn’t eat. 

One day, I had breakfast, and not one hour later, I lost my breakfast. I was kneeling there, in the bathroom, you know, uh… after losing my breakfast, and I didn’t know what to do. Of course there were protocols for when you get sick and barf up your rations, but I didn’t want to eat. Or rather, I didn’t want to eat another ration bar. My stomach still felt so queasy. I was starving, and I didn’t want to eat. 

It was like that for a few weeks afterwards. I had no idea what was wrong with me.  
… Jeez, I really was clueless back then, huh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *COUGH COUGH* that dating system's ripped right from the lore of my orphaned fic series, Lost Inheritance. Frostfall is basically November. These month names are very very literal. Because this is a show where there's a spellcaster named Castaspella. It works. I regret nothing.
> 
> also also in case you're wondering: yes. I made a timeline. I have every character's pregnancy milestones all lined up with the show's events in a handy dandy excel sheet, because I am a nerd! it's not precise to the day, of course, but it does its job well. Helped me figure out a lot of little tiny details throughout this fic. 
> 
> Next week, we'll see exactly why Scorpia is the second most oblivious woman in all of Etheria!


	7. Dark Cravings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Scorpia barks up the wrong tree
> 
> #2nd Most Oblivious Woman in All of Etheria #Fake Lycanthropy  
CW: a squirrel is killed and eaten. if you wanna skip that, it starts at “and I looked at him”, and only lasts one paragraph.

Now, while I was busy getting sick and trying my best to pretend I wasn’t getting sick, things started to grind to a halt back in the Horde. We’d lost our main science officer, all the progress we’d made the past few months just wound up to that big ball of nothing that was the failed portal, and even though the princesses were hit real bad with the loss of Bright Moon’s queen, we really were not prepared to mount another assault. 

Things were bleak. Bleak on all sides, really. So we worked to regroup. 

And that’s when I got assigned to scout ahead, find an old woodland outpost, secure it, get it up and running, maybe take over the neighboring villages if I felt I could handle it. This had to be a covert mission, so I was to travel alone, on foot, packing light. 

Halfway to my destination, I realized I wasn’t gonna be able to fight anyone. 

My upset stomach just got worse by the day. Every morning like clockwork, there came the nausea, and every time I got up, my head started spinning. My mouth tasted of blood, I got a weird lump in the side of my throat, my teeth would hurt sometimes, like at the gums, 

Oh, and the ration bars tasted disgusting. Some horde soldiers like the brown ones, some like the gray ones. I never really cared, but on that trail, I could barely choke down either! Every inch of them, from the texture to the taste, was just awful. I wished there was something else I could eat. Anything. But there was nothing. I could feel myself getting weaker the deeper I crawled into the forest. I was famished. At this rate, I’d have to surrender to the rebellion just so I wouldn’t end up starving to death! 

And that was the state I was in when I saw him. Some kind of furry animal, with pointy ears and round black eyes and a long bushy tail, staring right at me. 

And I looked at him.   
And he looked at me.   
And I looked at him.  
And he looked at me. 

And then I ate him.  
It took me a moment afterwards to realize what had happened. I think I paralyzed it with my tail. Which was good. At least it didn’t suffer. And even though I tore into the meat with a savagery I didn't think I was capable of, ate every bit I possibly could, I was still hungry. Of course I was. But the meat was satisfying in a way that the ration bars weren’t. And I needed more. 

And It was that hunger that me see all my symptoms in an entirely new light. the weird lump, the need for new kinds of food, the sensitivity, the hunger… 

This wasn’t a stomach bug at all. This was worse than that. I needed the sort of care I’d never be able to get at the Horde. It was a matter of life and death - and not just my own life. 

Fortunately, i found a uh… well. Someone who wouldn’t be needing his clothes anymore. They made for a good enough disguise, especially when I packed away my horde badge and uniform, and following the trail he left behind, I soon found a village. The villagers stared at me. By the banners hanging off the town hall, it was clear they were with the rebellion. I entered the building, anyways.

There was a town meeting, of course. I vaguely recall one of the elders flinching backwards. For good reason, I’d imagine. Here was a scorpion girl all clad in rags, blood on her lips, weak and hobbling on a walking stick, looking like she hadn’t eaten a bite for days. At least, that’s what they said I looked like. Didn’t realize it’d gotten that bad. 

As I kneeled before their council thingy and begged them for help, It struck me how strange it all was. Here I was loyal as ever, but still turning my back on the Horde. Asking the Rebellion for aid. Begging for the skilled magical healers of Mystacor. 

Not that I regret it, of course. I had no choice.   
Who else on Etheria would know the cure for Lycanthropy?


	8. Out of Darkness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The one where Scorpia finally catches up to the present day. 
> 
> #2nd Most Oblivious Woman in All of Etheria #Fake Lycanthropy

Jeez, this might be the longest entry I’ve ever written. I guess it makes sense. I’m not just talking about how a single day’s been. More like a lot of days. 

The townspeople weren’t sure whether to take my request seriously. After all, there’s never really been any confirmed werewolf sighting anywhere in etherian history. As far as we know, it’s just a legend. I’m not even sure they ever believed me, but as far as they were concerned, a madwoman wearing rags just raced into town, blood on her face, claiming to be a werewolf and begging to be taken to Mystacor. They probably just agreed so that I’d get out of their hair. 

At least, I figure that’s what they were thinking. But even if I was just a madwoman to them, they let me stay for free at the inn (with some guards posted just in case something went wrong), gave me some better clothes, a good big meaty meal every single day, and of course, a proper bath. They really were very nice. 

But even if they weren’t nice, I don’t know if I would’ve cared. I had bigger things on my mind. Werewolves are said to transform every full moon, but as you know… Etheria has like twelve moons, including the Bright Moon, so who knows which moon was the important one? Who knows when the transformation would happen? 

By the way, the Bright Moon is totally different from the kingdom of Bright Moon. They just have the same name. Maybe the kingdom was named after the moon? I wonder if the Moonstone is attuned to that moon, or if it’s attuned to all the moons. 

Speaking of Bright Moon, that’s where I ended up. The town sent a messenger to Queen Glimmer, and while I wasn’t there when the message was delivered, I’m pretty sure it went something like this: 

“Queen Glimmer! I come bearing news from the town of Blackmoor! A stranger wearing rags ran into our humble town, terrified and starving! She claims to be a werewolf, and she says only the sorcerors of Mystacor can cure her ailment! She requests passage to the hidden home of the sorcerors’ guild!”

Yeah, that sounds about right!  
So the messenger came back, bearing the official response from Bright Moon’s court. Turns out, there was a Mystacor sorcerer already staying in Bright Moon palace, Castaspella, the queen’s aunt, and she would be eager to help. 

I can’t say I was happy about being brought right to the seat of the rebellion. No, I was downright nervous! Thank goodness Blackmoor’s so far away from the front lines that they didn’t recognize my face, but I’d fought the queen. Personally. They’d never trust me, I’d probably be held prisoner, my force captain days were definitely over…

But the alternative was leaving my lycanthropy untreated, so off I went. I’d be going back to Bright Moon… and this time, I’d actually see the inside.   
The palace is amazing when it’s not being attacked. Absolutely beautiful. It’s got that kind of architecture that can even make a big gal like me feel small.

I wore my full disguise, of course, nice new clothes courtesy of Blackmoor. The rebels didn’t seem to recognize me as I approached the throne room. Queen Glimmer was there on her throne, and Shadow Weaver was standing on one side of her, this strange woman I’d never met before was standing on her other side. There was also her friend, that archer boy, who was standing pretty close to the throne, but notably NOT on Shadow Weaver’s side. There were also lots of guards everywhere, but… weirdly enough, no Adora. Well, it’s not weird to me now, it’s totally understandable. She was way too pregnant. But I didn’t know she was pregnant back then, so at the time? It was weird. 

Shadow Weaver and the strange woman were having a fight about something when I walked in. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, though, and as soon as my escorts announced my presence, everyone pretty much just stopped what they were doing. The archer guy, Bow, I think he’s called? He asked, “Why is she in chains?” 

Which. Fair enough. Maybe chaining my claws and legs and tail together was a bit excessive and made me look like a prisoner instead of a patient. But as you know, we had no idea when I was going to transform, so I requested they chain me on the journey there, so I couldn’t maul them in the middle of the night or something. One of the escorts explained this to them, and that archer boy frowned, but it made sense to him. 

It was at around that time that the strange woman stepped forward, a curious expression on her face, but Glimmer stopped her. 

“Wait… first, I want to see her face.”

My escort nodded, said, “alright, that seems reasonable.” I was still. Silent. Maybe a little afraid, but I steeled my nerves and waited for whatever fate had in store for me. I wasn’t about to back down now. There I was, kneeled on the stone floor of Bright Moon’s throne room, and like a flash, they pulled back my hood. 

Like I said, there was no way Queen Glimmer wouldn’t recognize me. 

“... called it. What’s your angle, Force Captain Scorpia?”

“Well, this was probably gonna happen anyways,” I muttered, tail curling around myself like it does whenever I’m nervous or embarrassed. Which I certainly felt. 

"well, congratulations on infiltrating Bright Moon!” Glimmer had shouted. “Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you into the dungeons."

I heard the boy mutter something, very faintly, and then the queen replied. Something about dungeons, the spare room, taking out some cushions? I didn’t really know and didn’t care. I needed to make my case to them. 

So I told them, hey, look, I’m not here on Hordak’s orders. I’m not even supposed to be anywhere near here? But the problem is, well, I’m a werewolf. And that’s bad. And I’d like to not be a werewolf, because if I keep being a werewolf, I could hurt someone without meaning to. And that would be sad.   
I wasn’t sure if it was convincing, but I gave the most sincere smile I possibly could. Glimmer didn’t seem all too happy with the story, which was understandable, but the others of her court (save for Shadow Weaver, who didn’t really say anything the whole time) seemed to believe it. The archerboy even pointed out that, with the whole chaining myself up thing, I’d basically surrendered them. That seemed to convince her. 

“Well, alright!” she said, “But you don’t look like a werewolf, so why are you so convinced you are one?”

And like an idiot, I objected to this line of questioning. “Hey hold on a second! Shouldn’t you save questions like that for when the sorceress is here?”

I say I was an idiot, because, well, not only was Shadow Weaver a Mystacor sorceror in her time, but as it turns out, the strange woman was also from Mystacor.

“I am the sorceress,” she said, which sure did shut me up quick and make me feel twice as embarassed. “My name is Castaspella, and I am Queen Glimmer’s aunt. Now then… why are you so convinced that you’ve contracted lycanthropy?” 

“well, I tore open a squirrel with my bare claws and ate it raw.” I said. Bluntly. Which made everyone except my escort take a step away from me. Which was understandable. “.... not my finest moment, I'll admit-”

And then Castaspella straightened her posture, quickly recovering her cool. She got why I was worried. And then she asked me a lot of different questions, probably trying to hash out exactly what was going on, was this lycanthropy, and what stage was it in? She asked me about hair growing in weird spots, was I running around at night, that sort of thing. 

Which was, well, nothing I was actually experiencing. Which I said. 

But, I told her, there was a lot of other weird stuff that’s been going on. I’ve been getting real sick, going dizzy when I stand up, and my chest is bigger, not sure what that’s about, 

And as I continued, the whole court just looked… concerned. And that concern only grew the more I described. It’s not that the symptoms were unfamiliar to them. They were very familiar. That was the problem. They all pointed to a particular condition... a condition which is not Lycanthropy.

I was midway through explaining how terrible the ration bars tasted all of a sudden when the sorceress interrupted me. 

"when was the last time you had your period?"

Boy, did that stop me cold. I was confused at first. She told me, “just answer the question,” and, reluctantly, I tried remembering. I’ve always been kinda bad about predicting my own cycle, but I counted backwards, and, well, turns out it’s been way more than a month since my last time of the month.   
And that was all the confirmation the court needed. 

Castaspella was the one to drop the bomb. “As I suspected,” she said, pinching the bridge of her nose. "you're not a werewolf. You're pregnant."

So, obviously, I was freaking out the entire time. The next few hours was a bit of a blur. The Blackmoor folks went back home, as far as they were concerned, their troubles were over. Mine, of course, were only beginning. I begged to speak with em in private, ‘cause this was a lot, of course! And naturally, they weren’t going to let me just walk back to the Fright Zone, so… that’s how I ended up being a prisoner of the rebellion. 

That was yesterday, by the way. 

We’d talked about a lot of things. With Castaspella’s help, I’d managed to figure out exactly when this all began, and like I said before, it all began about eight weeks ago. I know it’s Catra’s kid. Can’t really be anyone else’s. 

But it turns out, the queen’s pregnant, too. So’s Adora. They’re keeping this whole business a secret from the public and the other princesses for now, because if Hordak ever found out, he’d probably see it as an opportunity to strike Bright Moon while She-Ra was out of commission. You’re probably wondering why they told me. 

Well… first of all, Adora’s belly is huge, so it was really obvious just at a glance. 

The other reason is because they’ve got Catra’s kids, too. We’ve all got her kittens or something. When I told them it could only be Catra, honestly? They all just stared in horror. Adora cursed, even. I’ve never seen her curse, before. She’s really frustrated about the entire situation. 

Me, I’m feeling… weird. When I first got the news, I thought, maybe this is a sign, or something silly like that. Maybe my wildcat really does love me, maybe when all this is over, we could have a family together. 

Turns out, I was just the last in a long line of mistakes she’s made.   
Oh, well. At least these kitties are gonna have a lot of half-sisters… and a lot of moms.

Hah. reminds me of my own childhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand there you have it! Scorpia's in Bright Moon, now. what a twist!  
we're getting close to the big moment... the moment where Catra realizes what she's done.


	9. An Uneasy Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia comes to terms with the fact that she's never going back to the Fright Zone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is so late! I had to rearrange my thoughts, get a grip on where I was heading with the next few chapters, and I also had to focus on school and my life for a bit. I've got that all under control now, so I'm gonna try and get myself back into the swing of weekly chapters! 
> 
> this chapter is officially marking the start of part 3, Time.   
... I'm tryinga keep the themes relevant, okay?

11 Frostfall, 1020

Sorry for writing this in the morning and not at night like I normally do. There’s just a lot of stuff on my mind right now, and maybe if I write it all down, I’ll be able to sort things out, figure out where I’m going or how I feel. That’s what diaries are for, right? 

Okay. let’s get the normal stuff out of the way.   
I’m still in Bright Moon. Still technically their prisoner. This room isn’t really under tight lock and key. I think it’s a guest room, actually. There’s some weird ominous magic scarring on the floor, and… that’s about it? They really stripped this place bare. Oh, right, there’s the bed. The bed I slept in last night. It’s surprisingly hard, feels like the beds in Fright Zone barracks. I didn’t really expect that. 

There’s a big fancy window opposite the door. It’d be pretty easy to break the window and escape… but the guards would hear. There’s guards posted outside the door. They wouldn’t be much trouble, I think, but I don’t want to cause any trouble.   
Why am I thinking about escape, anyways? 

I mean, if I did escape… where would I go? I’m pregnant. Even with the vital intel that is She-Ra and the queen being out of commission, it’s not like I’d be able to keep my position. If I wanted to keep being a Force Captain, I’d… I’d have to get rid of the-

Well. you know. And I know I can’t do that. Not when I’m not even sure I want to stay in the Horde. That time in the Crimson Waste was eye-opening. There’s more than just war, you know? And I have a whole life ahead of me, and where do I want that life to go? I’m not sure I could ever go back to working mission-to-mission, eating rations, waiting for Catra to look my way…

I can’t go back to that. I don’t want to go back. I need to stay here, with the Rebellion. I need to start thinking about my future and theirs.   
… This sucks. Believe me, Diary, I don’t want to be a traitor. I just don’t have any other choice, here. 

Besides, Bright Moon has way better food. Speaking of which, I think breakfast is coming soon. I’m starving. I’ll get back to you this evening. 

\--

… Well! That sure was a day.

Breakfast was great, by the way. Some sort of grilled fishmeat, eggs, a nice small salad to balance things out. It was very very filling. And there was tea, too! The rebels were talking about what to do with me, so I ended up spilling the beans that I’m not sure I want to go back to the Fright Zone, yanno, cause there’s nothing there for me, and so much has changed, and I’ve changed, and I think I cried a bit, because I-

I realized that Catra was waiting for me. They all were. I was supposed to secure the outpost, and I didn’t do that, and how long will I be missing before they realize something’s gone wrong? Will they think I’m dead? Will they learn the truth? 

What would Catra say about this? About what I’m doing here. I can’t imagine she’d be happy about it, but… would she even care?

… Okay, diary. I sobbed. During breakfast and everything. It was just so much, and all at once, and in that moment, it really hit me that my life with the Horde was… over. I was never going back. 

Queen Glimmer and Adora and their friend Bow were at the table when this was happening. They were really quiet, they just let me cry it all out, and then they were still quiet for a long time afterwards. I was there, face just planted onto the table, all wet with tears, really gross, and then I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder. I look up, and there’s Adora, sitting right next to me. There was a look on her face, a look I’m not sure I could describe, honestly. It was sad and kind and worried and just. A lot of things at once. 

And she said, “hey… it’s alright. You’re with us, now.” 

And that’s how I stopped being their prisoner. Glimmer seems to think I’m trustworthy. They all do. Not sure how they can tell I’m not lying. It’s really a big gamble, letting me go free… but they kinda hit the nail on the head with me. I’m not going back. I can’t. So… now I’m with the Rebellion.

We fixed up my room, then. Cleaned it, put the pillows back, and Adora even brought over some books from the library that she figured I’d like to read. I’ve never really done any reading for fun, but the books sure sound interesting! They also gave me a tour of the palace. It was really nice, but we had to cut it short, because I got sick and dizzy all of a sudden, and Glimmer’s aunt had to come in and cast a spell on me to make me feel better. I met a lot of different people, though! Seems like the palace is going to get even more bustling, soon, cause Glimmer’s decided that we should probably tell the rest of the Alliance what’s going on, especially because Adora’s so far along. Apparently, she’s almost due? But they’re not sure, because her body’s kinda weird and there was a delay? Or something? I didn’t really understand. 

The food’s great, though! So are the books. I just started reading this one about plumerian flower-language. Apparently, ancient plumerians used bottled flower parts as a way to deliver coded messages during war. I can’t even imagine those guys having ever been warriors, but apparently, they were, all the way back in the days of the She-Ra! I might have to ask Glimmer if I can use some of the flowers from the garden to make a bottled message of my own… as soon as I figure out what I’d put in it. Hrm. I’ll get back to you on that one, Diary.

\--

12 Frostfall, 1020

Hey, Diary. Still doing great. People are treating me nice, the bed’s a lot better now that it’s got pillows, I’m eating this lovely little light meal for dinner, right now. It’s a rice bowl, with raw fish and greens and some kinda sweet sauce. It’s a lot tastier than it sounds, believe me! 

There’s going to be an emergency meeting held next week, to talk about me, and the kittens, and what we’re going to do, and all that important wartime stuff. They sent messengers to all the kingdoms today, so they’d have time to get over here and prepare and such. Honestly, it makes me kinda nervous. I don’t know if the others will like me!

Other than that... I asked Glimmer about the flower thing. Bow thought it’d be a great hobby for me to do while I’m sitting around the palace bored, but Shadow Weaver seemed really really mad about it, and forbade me from picking any flowers from the palace garden. Glimmer said that Shadow Weaver didn’t have any authority to forbid me from doing anything, but then Shadow Weaver gave her that kind of look that’s the only look you can really give someone when your face is covered by a mask, and she just kinda… backed down. Glimmer’s aunt seemed upset by this, and asked Shadow Weaver to speak with her in private. 

They were yelling in the hall last I saw them. Really loudly.  
I still don’t know why Shadow Weaver doesn’t want me picking flowers? Really weird. 

Well, not my business, I guess! Tomorrow’s a new day, Diary! Let’s hope it’s a good one!

\--

13 Frostfall, 1020

Queen Glimmer was crying today. Found her sitting under the Moonstone, I think it was after one of her ‘recharging’ sessions. I tried to comfort her. Like how Adora comforted me? I just sort of. Sat next to her. And she sorta leaned into me. And it was like that for a while. And then I asked her if she needed a hug, and she said yes, so I hugged her. Just held her real close and gave her my spiky shoulder to cry on. And boy, she was crying for a real long time.   
And then she sorta said, “I miss her sometimes,” 

I asked who, and she said, “mom.”

Those words hit me like a stun baton right in the chest, Diary. 

Oh, that’s right. I never told you. 

Queen Angella sacrificed herself to close that portal that was ruining all of reality. Those of us on the Horde end didn’t really manage to grasp the specifics of what went down, but from what Bow’s told me, Adora was there when it happened. When the queen flew off to save reality and trap herself in the weird limbo between space and time. That’s why Glimmer’s the queen, now. 

That really sucks, you know? Poor girl’s barely known her dad, and then in the midst of this terrible war, her mom has to leave, too, and now she’s all alone. I’ve been there. Wishing mom and mom were still around. I miss them, too.

I hope my kids don’t end up missing me one day. I’ll do my very best to make sure I never have to leave them alone, Diary. That’s a promise.

\--

14 Frostfall, 1020

So it turns out, some of the alliance members are arriving early. Makes sense, I suppose. The kingdoms are spread really far apart. Some are closer to Bright Moon, and others aren’t. And then some of the princesses were here all along! 

By “some of the princesses,” I mean Netossa and Spinerella. I didn’t even realize they were princesses! 

Anyways, Perfuma arrived today. She wasn’t sure about me at first? But then I started talking about the flower messages, and she got really really excited about it! She was just so happy that I’d taken such an interest in her peoples’ history, and it turns out, she’s got a passion for the flower-letters herself! She’s looking into ancient plumerian warfare, trying to revive the ancient practices. Also, she can just summon up whatever flower she wants to, and let me tell you, Diary, that makes the whole business of writing flower-messages so much easier! Aw man, we had so much fun today, making all these different letters of all sorts. I’ll tell you about them later, once we’re done with our project to make an entire poem out of bottled flowers!

I hope the others are as forgiving as Perfuma. She doesn’t say anything, but I can tell she doesn’t quite trust me yet. Which is understandable. It’s really nice that she’s putting in the effort to get to know me in spite of our history. She really is such a nice woman.

\--

15 Frostfall, 1020

Shadow Weaver and Castaspella were fighting. Again. I managed to listen a bit closer this time. It’s about Glimmer, apparently. Shadow Weaver wants to keep training her, continue working with her to amplify her powers. But Castaspella really hates the idea. Apparently, Shadow Weaver’s own magic only works through siphoning huge chunks of it from her surroundings? So Casta was accusing Shadow Weaver of using Glimmer like a battery, and she was saying that sort of abuse would be terrible for the children. Shadow Weaver thinks Casta’s being naiive, that the Rebellion needs to use every resource at their disposal if they have any hope of defeating Hordak, and the queen needs to be stronger, way stronger than she is now. They don’t have any time to waste. 

I’m really not sure what to think about that. Maybe I should pitch in more often, actually help the Rebellion? It seems like between Shadow Weaver and Adora, the Rebellion already has more intel about the Horde than they’d ever need, though, so I’m not sure how I’d be able to help them.

I should probably talk about this tomorrow. Yeah, I’m gonna do that. I’ll tell you how it works out, Diary. For now, goodnight!


	10. Past Regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia finally makes her decision about where she belongs. Meanwhile, someone is watching...  
#most oblivious nonbinary mercenary in all of Etheria #Feels #ominous cliffhangers #adora/scorpia (I guess??? not sure if it's / or & but whatever)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 11/14/2019 UPDATE: OOPS, SEASON 4 HAPPENED.  
I’ve mostly changed the Double Trouble sections. Their voice and character had me spellbound, and it'd be doing them a disservice to keep their dialog like, well... the kinda bland tone I had before. they deserve more than that.  
They also deserve to not have their cover blown within a single chapter. 
> 
> I've also put more depth into what's going on with the war, making that part of the drama feel more alive and less like an excuse to not write battle scenes. (I will be writing battle scenes! but later!!!)
> 
> (note: I've done something a bit... experimental with the first DT scene. it was a challenge to indicate that they were shifting and doing impressions, with only dialog. I hope it's readable, because it was very fun to write! I love DT)

16 Frostfall, 1020

I made a mistake today.

I asked Shadow Weaver for advice.  
I went over to her place, and kinda got her attention… and shen she looked right at me, I could already tell I was making a mistake. She’s always given me the heebie-jeebies, but now that her mask’s all cracked and her hair doesn’t flow around like it’s alive anymore… she’s even creepier. Like she shouldn’t be alive at all.

But I still asked her for advice! I wanted to ask her if Catra was good for me, but I was just so nervous, I ended up stumbling over my words, and it came out like,

"hey... Shadow Weaver? what do you think of Catra? what she, yanno... did... like, is she... good for..."

And then she looked at me, staring at my face through those creepy little holes in her completely expressionless mask.  
And she gave me an answer.  
A long answer.  
I didn’t really like that answer. Still don’t.  
It sounds wrong. I’m not even going to write it here. I’m going to just forget all about it.

I don’t think I like Shadow Weaver all that much.

\--  
"Oh Caaaaatraaaaaa... ... ... oh you're not here, huh? Eh. I guess this'll be a monologue.

The Nest egg operation was a Success, but there’s no fox inside-

Oh, ew, that's so drab. Why'd we even decide to use code? that was a terrible idea. There's pretty much no chance anyone knows I'm in here, anyways. Let's just start again, from the top!

Elberron was a smashing success! Flutterina was a hit with the queen and the tech man, and now I'm here. In Bright Moon. No one suspects a thing. There's just... one little problem.

The star of the show has vanished.

Well, she's... here. but always behind the curtain. Who? Oh, Adora, of course! The great She-Ra herself hasn't so much as peeked her head out onto stage! pffthltlhl. Please note, Catra, that this little impression I'm doing right now is merely an imitation of what I can only guess she looks like right now. Do you think the hair poof is big enough? I haven't the faintest clue, you see, because I haven't seen her in person once! She wasn't at Elberron, despite your insistence she would be! And you know something? She wasn't in the Waste, either. Do you really know her as well as you claim? Because I'm getting sick of the disappointments.

As for their movements? Despite "Flutterina's" new position as official member of the Rebellion... they've told me nothing. I ask when the next mission's going to be, and they say, "ohhh no, there's nothing planned for you, now run along, be sure to train hard!" And let me tell you, there's nothing more infuriating than an overused line.

So in the meantime, I've been trying to figure out where our Golden Child is, and in the process, I've learned quite a bit about the daily routines of the entire cast and crew! I suppose I'll lay them out.

_I, the sparkly and surprisingly rude Queen Glimmer, always have my breakfast, with Adora, at exactly eight-o-clock, and it's always a rotating meal, depending on the day of the week! Not that Flutterina will ever know. I don't let her anywhere near the dining room! No one does! They just tell her, ah, you know, they need their privacy, run along now... which, you know, if she Sometimes I get pissy just before dinner and ask for ice cream because I'm basically an overgrown baby, but I never actually get it, because my aunt won't let me!_

and oh, the aunt!

_I know it's no fun, Glimmer, but you have to watch your sugar intake! and no chocolate, you know the rules~ it's bad for you._

I didn't know the Queen was a dog, anyways, next on the list,   
ahhhhh yessss.... How could I forget Shadow Weaver?

_Oh, I'm just creeping around in my garden, most days. Sometimes, the Queen comes in for magic training! isn't that just plain ominous? Other than that, I must admit, I tend to do a grand total of nothing all day, save for my morning tea, of course. Though I did get a guest the other day... Scorpia. And you know what? She asked me about Catra! You know how much I hate Catra, so I didn't give her a good review at all._

_ oh. well, uh. okay. I guess. thanks for telling me. I'm just gonna go now. see ya... _

Yes, that's exactly what Scorpia said in response. You could just smell the regret on her! Oh yes, kitten. I forgot you don't know that yet. well, I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they have Force Captain Scorpia. Shocking, isn't it? Hrm. In retrospect, perhaps I should've led with that bit of news.

Ah, what's it matter. I'm sure you're hanging on my every word, anyways. So. Not only is she here, but the twist goes deeper... Unlike Shadow Weaver, she’s not a prisoner! Apparently, her first impression with the rebels went something like,

_I need a medic! A sorceress! Someone to help me! I'm a werewolf!_

_ I am a sorceress, and... you're not a werewolf, you're pregnant! _

And then then she decided to stay, because she made a great big show of handcuffing herself so her big furry claws wouldn't gore anyone. Ha! Can you believe it? she thought her pregnancy was lycanthropy! What an oblivious girl.

Oh, and The plumerian princess is here. She and Scorpia went on for hours and hours and hours about some flower language, _ oh, you know, the ancient plumerians, so wise and peaceful and flowery, used to use bottled flowers to deliver secret messages during wartime-_

Wait… that’s it. That’s it! They’re using the flower language! That's why the alliance hasn't been convening in Bright Moon! That's why no one's talking within earshot of me! It makes perfect sense! The plot unravels! Yes, I can work with this! Of course they'd let sweet Flutterina in on the fun of flower bottling! There's no way this can go wrong!

Yes, I do believe I'll have some studying to do. I'll catch you later, kitten! Make sure to pick up this time~”

—  
“I don’t think I like Shadow Weaver all that much.”

Scorpia stares down at the page she’s written. It’s not a very descriptive entry, but it’s better than nothing. Besides, she doesn’t really feel in the mood to write today. With a sense of finality, she closes the book and slips it into her bag. Then she looks out to the night sky. Three of the moons are out tonight. It’s late at night, but she decides to go for a stroll.

She finds Adora working out in the yard, punching a makeshift dummy and doing stretches. This surprises the former force captain, and so she approaches.  
"you’re training?" She asked, confusion evident in her voice.

"hff- can't get out of shape. feeling tired, shouldn't let- ghf - my guard down!"

"Castaspella said that exhaustion is normal at this stage." Scorpia mentioned, finding a seat at the edge of the training field. And indeed, with that huge belly weighing her down and feeding off her body, Adora does seem exhausted. Too exhausted to even think about strenuous activity. And yet, here she is. Determined to train no matter the cost.

"Yeah, well, Castaspella said some exercise would do me good, anyways, so long as I get enough to eat and don’t overwork myself."

"Kinda looks like you’re about to hit your limit already."

Adora throws a few punches at the dummy, lifts her leg a bit as though she’s about to kick it... But then gets second thoughts. She sets her leg down, puts her hands on her knees to catch her breath, then todders over to the bench that Scorpia’s already taken a seat at, and slowly, gently, sits down, herself. She groans.

“That bad, huh?” Scorpia asks, the urge to say ‘called it’ not even crossing her mind.

Adora groaned. “Stupid kittens don’t do shit for months, then all of a sudden, bam, they blow up all huge in your stomach and you’ve got no time to prepare, ugh, it sucks, you’re gonna hate this part. Seriously.”

Scorpia nods. Adora’s frustration at her situation has been fairly evident. The former force captain is reminded of that first outburst she made, back when she learned that Scorpia’s also having Catra’s babies:

_ “... fucking kittens. Ugh, great, so not only do we have to deal with four-to-eight kittens from the freaking enemy, but now there’s a whole new batch that’s coming from a Force Captain! And knowing our luck, there’s probably even MORE girls Catra’s shagged out there, growing little kitties of their own!” _

Yeah, ‘frustrated’ might be an understatement when it comes to Adora. Scorpia was a bit more chill about the whole situation. Which makes sense, she’s always been more of a ‘go with the flow’ kinda gal. “Well, it’d be a good excuse to sit in bed and just eat fish bowls all day!”

Adora looks at her. And squints. Then snorts and laughs. They laugh together for a moment…  
And then there's an awkward silence.  
".... I don't actually hate you." Scorpia says.

"huh?"

"you know," she elaborated, rubbing the back of her neck, "in the portal, I said I really didn't like you? Well, that, I wasn’t really-" She bit her tongue,not sure how to begin this. She tried again. “Things are different now. I guess.”

"Oh. yeah,” Adora muttered, remembering the strange backwards world that the unstable portal had created. “I figured that was just. the weirdness. you dropped it pretty quick when you-"

"Yeah…” she agreed. A tentative question slowly rolled off her tongue, word by word. “um... so… do you… hate me?"

Adora shook her head. "course not. don't even think I can hate Catra."

"you too?!"

"well," she said, gingerly rubbing her belly, "I'm pissed, I won’t lie. she crossed the line, and I'm not giving her any more mercy, but..."

"... but you can't hate her."

"she's not that far gone. somehow. she needs to pay for what she’s done, but... but she's still..."

Scorpia nods. She gets it. She really does. They sit there in silence again, this one much more comfortable than the last, and again, Scorpia breaks that silence.

"... thanks."

"hrm?"

"I uh. I asked Shadow Weaver. About Catra..." she begins, Adora raising her brows in response, "... and she. Her answer, it... it wasn't what I was looking for- no, it-"

"it wasn't right."

"... no. it wasn't." She said with a sigh, and Adora nodded in agreement.

"Shadow Weaver never understood. If she wasn't helping us take down Hordak, I'd kick her out of Bright Moon and leave her to rot."

"I don't like her, either." Scorpia says, a bit more confidently than when she wrote it down in her diary.

"Good. You shouldn't."

A third silence. This time, Scorpia decided to mention one of the many observations she’s been taking over the past week.

“... you’ve been angrier lately.”

“Have I?”

“Yeah.”

“Well…” Adora mutters, “shit’s been kinda bad, lately. I guess I’ve just kind of. Kind of snapped.”

Scorpia nods. She gets it.

Adora looks out to the horizon, where the first moon is just about rising from the distant sea. “Something I don’t get… is how accepting you’ve been of all this.”

“Huh?”

“You didn’t fight us. You chained your claws together and marched yourself over to Bright Moon without a second thought. Just to cure some illness? And you haven’t been even the slightest bit resentful about being held prisoner here. Why?”

Scorpia frowns.  
“Well, I’ve always been a go with the flow kinda gal, but. Well. Catra… she lied to Hordak. Entrapta wanted to warn him about the portal. So she stunned her. And had her sent to Beast Island. And she was ready to do the same to me. And Hordak’s been saying that Entrapta brought you guys into the Fright Zone.”

“That’s… definitely not true. From what Glimmer told me, Shadow Weaver helped her teleport right into the heart.”

That just confirmed what Scorpia already knew. That exiling Entrapta was a mistake. A betrayal. “I knew that wasn’t true. Couldn’t have been.”

“You’re doubting your allegiance to the Horde. Aren’t you?”

“I. I guess? I never thought about it that way, but I guess I am! yeah.”

“I get it. I was there, too. Look… even without your own kingdom, or your runestone… I’m sure the others will accept you, okay?”

“You promise that?” Scorpia asked, a turn of phrase that made Adora wince.  
But… Scorpia wasn’t her. Scorpia was different. And now… Adora was different, too.

“... Yeah. I promise.”

\----

“Hello, Kitten. I appreciate the prompt response, but you don't call me. I call you.”  
“It’s midnight. Everyone should be asleep by now.”

“Yeah? Well, I’m in the library, and Scorpia just blustered through here, and let me tell you, she almost saw this little convenient screen here! and then then I would've had to make an excuse about wanting to watch some videos on princess cartoons! or whatever princesses watch!”

“Why are you in the libr- is this about the flower message shit?”

“Oh, kitten, it’s a perfectly reasonable theory! It's just about the only option left!”

Nose in a book, bottle full of flower petals in one hand, seated at a desk in the middle of Bright Moon’s library with an array of bottled plant matter all around them, one would reasonably assume that the young moth was diligently studying to become a botanist. Of course, that assumption would be false, for they were a spy at their wit’s end, hoping that the idle crafts project of two princesses could hold the secret to their enemy’s internal radio silence. Though Catra’s face could not be seen on the communicator, one could sense her annoyance.

“... alright. What, pray tell, do the flowers say?”

Double Trouble felt almost ashamed to admit it.

“... Well, this one is a fascinating blend pattern of striped carnation with cyclamen and zinnia, which, I've deduced, should mean, ‘I wish I could stay, but this is goodbye, always remember me,' though for the life of me, I'm not quite sure what that translation even means! Maybe they’re doing a code within a code, this truly is a puzzling little mystery of an espionage game. Now this next one, hrm, that’s a lotus, so everything above they know and everything below they don’t, mmh, a striking arrangement. and then there's columbine, yew, then pansy…” they flipped through the book a bit, “that ivy wrapped around the bottle means it’s directed to the receiver, so that would say," they shifted into Scorpia, "I know you’re a liar and you’re poison, I don’t know if you love.”

The spy shifted back into their Flutterina form, frowning in notable confusion.

“Is this wartime communications or angsty teen romance drama?”

Double Trouble, by now feeling a bit sheepish, looked to the next bottle. They could already see where it was headed. “Well, this next one’s about a broken family, it may be of use for me to sow disco-.”

“I cannot believe this,” groaned the force captain on the other end of the communicator, “we have to bring down the Rebellion, we can’t be worried about some princess’ love life!”

“Well, their love lives may still be useful, remember that I’m here for sabotage, as well. Who do you think these are directed to, Kitte-”

“I don’t know! And I don’t care! Why is princess Perfuma in Bright Moon? Is there a rebellion meeting?”

Double was slightly taken aback at Catra’s snappishness, a little offended, even. But, a contract is a contract, and they do want that money…

“Hrm… Oh yes. There is, in fact, an emergency meeting for all the princess alliance! A few have already arrived, and the rest will be here for the show tomorrow!”

“Wonderful! Try to get your ear in on that meeting, at all costs! We need to know their movements, predict them, and take them out before it’s too late!”

“You got it, kitten.” Double Trouble purred, “I'll be sure to tell you all about it.”

“Good. I know they're taking action, and we need that information. Now.” And then Catra shut off the connection. Now the spy was alone. They looked around the dark library, illuminated only by the single light shining over Double’s desk. They looked around at the bottled flowers they snagged from Perfuma and Scorpia, reading each message they’d managed to decipher. It was all about relationships. All about some mysterious other with unknown motives, regret and longing, a broken family, an uncertain future.... It seems Scorpia, at the least, was very concerned about whoever got her pregnant.

It wasn’t hard to figure out why. It's a time-honored tale of tragedy. Given she was apparently already pregnant by the time she got here, it seems that Scorpia’s old lover is still with the Horde. That matters greatly. It’s a point of leverage. So why doesn’t Catra care? Does she truly not see the great potential for sabotage here?

Double shakes their head. Maybe this doesn’t matter as much as other things. Like why's Adora locked up in her room. Or where the Rebellion will strike next. The Horde's running out of time, and the boss is getting impatient for a proper performance.

A good sleep should get them ready for tomorrow’s work. They shift back into their disguise and walk slowly back to Flutterina's room.

\--

Scorpia, however, does not return to her bed.

It’s far past the midnight hour, and the sky is beginning to turn blue as the bright moon prepares to ascend into the sky, and Scorpia is pacing the halls of the palace, munching on a bowl full of snacks she raided from the pantry, gazing at the murals and statues, and thinking.

Of course, she’s thinking about Catra. She’s thinking about her own family, long ago. She’s thinking about the babies growing inside her body. She’s looking up at the image of the late king of Bright Moon, beside the majestic wings of the former queen, and she’s thinking about Glimmer, crying at the foot of her runestone because her parents are gone. A thought comes into Scorpia’s head that the Horde took them away. She wonders how much more the Horde will take away from them all. She wonders why she stayed so loyal for so long. She wonders if she’ll survive the war. If they’ll survive. And what will be the future when Etheria’s at peace? Will Catra ever love her? Will she ever forgive Catra?

It’s all too much. She finds her bowl is empty now. It’s becoming harder and harder for Scorpia to think, to keep her eyes open. She doesn’t want to walk to her bed. She sits down on the floor, next to the door of a room that belongs to someone, but Scorpia can’t quite remember who. Maybe she’ll just rest her eyes for a moment, and then she can go back to her room and write some more in her diary.

Just a moment of rest…

\--  
The early light shines through the windows in Adora’s room. She opens her eyes groggily, looking around, taking note of the time. She decides now’s as good a time as ever to get up.

Gingerly, she slides out of bed, she goes over to brush her teeth, wash her face, try not to dry heave over the basin. All of that is a success, and so she opens the door, and-

There’s Scorpia. Laying there like a log, eyes closed and clearly asleep.  
Adora blinked. How long has she been-  
She sees the empty bowl next to the former horde soldier, and deduces that, somehow, this was a midnight snack run gone horribly wrong.  
Well. It’s obvious that Scorpia needs a proper bed. And someone’s gonna have to bring her there. Adora taps her sleeping body with one foot. Nope. She’s out like a log.  
Maybe before, Adora might have been able to drag Scorpia over on her own. Maybe. But right now, Adora’s not as strong as she used to be, and…

… Well, Light Hope said it should be fine, transforming into She-Ra.

She turns a corner, sword in hand, careful not to disturb the sleeping woman, and quietly shout-whispers, “for the honor of Grayskull!”  
She-Ra easily lifts the woman, and could easily carry her to her own bed. But… she pauses to think. Maybe there’s a reason Scorpia’s out here, instead of on her own bed. Maybe she needs a little better than a hard cot in a creepy empty room. So Adora brings Scorpia into her own room, and her own bed. Not the cot. The softer bed. The feather hell.

Back when she was first in Bright Moon, Adora found that bed to be terribly uncomfortable. She was used to the firmer beds of the Fright Zone, so Glimmer and Bow brought in a cot, and Adora slept like a baby, and that was that. But now, she’s got a belly full of babies, and she can’t sleep the way she used to anymore. Now, that soft bed is a dream. The only thing that doesn’t hurt to sleep in.

And Glimmer agreed. The princess and queen is fast asleep on one end of the bed, and She-Ra needs to be careful to set Scorpia down where she won’t disturb either sleeper. She thinks, maybe scorpia will appreciate waking up next to the two of them. After all, Adora only really felt welcome in Bright Moon when Bow and Glimmer stayed the night in her room. A simple act can say so much. She sets the sleeping scorpion-woman, down, tucks her in, and then changes back to normal, the flash of transformative light subtle enough that it doesn’t wake them. Adora then crawls into bed herself, adjusting her position to the absolute ideal of comfort, and then closes her eyes.

A few more hours of sleep couldn’t hurt, right?

——

Scorpia wakes up with Adora and Glimmer on either side of her, in an impossibly soft bed. Glimmer’s taken to using the soft part of Scorpia’s upper arm as a pillow, and Adora’s sprawled out, face leaning ever so slightly towards the beefier woman.

She looks out, sees the moonlight shining in. it’s a lovely morning.

It’s the morning of the meeting. All the Princess Alliance will be there, and Scorpia, once their enemy, will have to introduce herself. The thought fills her with dread… and then she feels Glimmer shift on her arm. She looks down at the sleepy queen. She tries to remember how she got here, but she can’t remember. She rolls over and looks at Adora, nudges her softly with one Claw.

“Mmh?” she mumbles, slowly waking up.

“Hey uh… Adora. Do you remember how I got here?”

“You were passed out outside my door, so I figured might as well bring you here.”

Scorpia gave Adora a wide-eyed look. Adora laughed, giving her a light punch.

“Don’t worry about it. You’re one of us now. Now, do ya wanna keep sleeping? Not sure you’ve gotten enough shuteye yet.”

Something felt all warm and fuzzy in Scorpia’s chest.

You’re one of us now.

This is it. This was acceptance… and it felt incredible.  
Scorpia nodded, and Adora smiled, closing her eyes and slowly drifting back to sleep. Glimmer, restless in her sleep, squirmed just a bit closer to Scorpia’s warm chest. Scorpia smiled, staring up at the ceiling before she, too, drifted back to sleep.

Maybe everything was going to be alright.  
——

"... Ah. not here, Kitten? unfortunate. Must be busy. But it’s no problem with me. You asked me to find some documents while the meeting was still on a strict ‘no children allowed’ basis. Well, I’ve found something! Ta da!”

Double Trouble, still disguised as Flutterina, held up the old journal to the tablet’s camera.

“A journal! Scorpia’s, to be precise. Can’t imagine this thing would have much that is useful, but you never know. Anyways, this book is nothing compared to what I overheard… They’ve caught me up to speed on what I missed in the meeting, and it seems I was right. Adora really is sick, and now it’s critical!

It’s so bad, in fact, so urgent, that it seems they'll need to take her to the floating islands of Mystacor for some R&R! something about the baths being especially good for her health. And the Queen's headed, too, alongside Scorpia and yours truly! And I’ve finally figured out why they’ve been so quiet with each other! It turns out, nearly all the princesses were dealing with their own little versions of whatever Adora came down with, and they’d all just decided to split their forces among their respective kingdoms and focus on defense! Makes sense, given what you’ve been seeing on the battlefield. However, with She-Ra’s condition becoming critical, they’ve decided their best defense is a good offense, and they’re intent on intimidating you. they'll be making two coordinated operations on your supply lines, making you scramble to secure them all. They're rather bold locations, but ones that you're not really focusing on. The idea is to strike fast and hard, to make it look like they're stronger than they actually are. I'll send you the coordinates of their two targets, but let me give you a spoiler: they’ve learned about the supply line through the Whispering Woods, and the one following that river close to Dryl. Expect princesses soon, darling! May want to consider using a decoy caravan. In the meantime… now would be a great opportunity to really deal a heavy blow to the rebellion!

It looks like the show has finally begun, kitten. Something tells me I’ll be seeing you in Mystacor personally. I can’t wait!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY HALLOWEEN! We're celebrating with an ominous cliffhanger!
> 
> Yeah, I'm kinda late on this one. I just totally lost my inspiration for a while.  
Incidentally, I'm thinking about making a playlist for this fic? so I can listen to it and get a nice vibe, but I haven't been like. listening to music that consistently for so long? it's kinda hard for me to think of any appropriate titles to add to it. And before you come in with the suggestions, pls note: I've got a wide and accommodating range of musical taste, but. please don't suggest any uber-popular songs or artists? nothing against them, I'm just not sure I'll be able to take my playlist seriously. it'd be like if I put Linkin Park's Crawling in there. totally ruins the vibe, no matter how appropriate the song is.
> 
> you don't HAVE to send in suggestions, though! I'm just babbling about the fic and stuff I'm making tangential to it.  
Anyways, I've basically finished up the next chapter, so you might even get it early. who knows?  
Stay tuned for Catra, and drama, and an extremely awkward Princess Alliance meeting. 
> 
> I've also added a few more tags, based on things I've added to future fic events. whoo!
> 
> I hope I did the dialog-heavy prose right!


	11. Intermission: Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: A glimpse of the distant future.  
#no tag warnings for this one #it’s just exactly the same heartbreaking nonsense from the canon babey!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This intermission also handily doubles as a notification that I’ll be going back and heavily editing chapter 10. Thought it was just gonna be to change Double’s dialog to be more canon-compliant, but then I realized… I need to change a lot, huh? Anyways, the edit will happen on the same day I post chapter 11- er... chapter 12, now... but it'll be a while before I'll feel safe to publish both. This is a hiatus announcement I guess, uh, ENJOY SEASON 4!!!!
> 
> also if you haven't watched it yet uh THIS IS SPOILERS FOR THE SEASON 4 FINALE!!!! IT'S LITERALLY THE VERY END!!!!!!
> 
> 5/16/2020 Edit: I took out some minor lines that weren't working for this fic.

Catra could only watch in horror as Glimmer, the Queen of Bright Moon, struggled with all her might to punch through and destroy the Black Garnet, demolish the superweapon that she had previously insisted she could use to defeat the Horde once and for all.

She was broken long ago. She only kept going out of force of habit. Sure, she’d stolen the Horde right from underneath Hordak, but… Well, this recent surge of victory only came at the tail end of a long list of failures. Everyone left her. Even loyal Scorpia left. Even Lonnie left. Even Double Trouble betrayed her, in the end. 

But she couldn’t stop thinking about what they’d said to her, even when the queen walked up to her slumped form, victory painted bright as day on her face. How could she ever forget what Double said to her in their final meeting? 

“People have hurt you, haven’t they? They didn’t believe in you. Didn’t trust you. Didn’t need you. Left you.”

The shapeshifter had taken so many forms, adopted the faces of everyone who’d left Catra. Shadow Weaver. Hordak. Adora. To add insult to injury, they let her stroke their cheek. They knew what Adora meant to her.

“But did you ever stop to think, maybe they’re not the problem?” 

They shifted again. And again. And again. And again. Double knew, she realized in horror. They knew about the kittens. How did they know about the kittens?  
One final form. Scorpia. Catra knew it wasn’t the real Scorpia. But at the same time, she knew that face, that look of utter betrayal, could only come from Scorpia. 

“It’s you. You drive them away, wildcat.” 

Catra had already suspected how they could’ve possibly known what she’d done. It was clear. They were captured. They spoke with the princesses. They figured it out. They always would. And they betrayed her.

“Why are you doing this?” 

The next words that came out of the mercenary’s mouth shook her to her core. Lingered in her gut. 

“It’s for your own good. We both know this was never what you really wanted.”

The stars shone in the sky. Wait… stars?! Catra gaped in horror. She had scarcely noticed that the magic flowing from Glimmer’s body had faded. She barely noticed the green light around her body.

====

It was a peaceful moment. The calm before the storm. Or perhaps the calm before the crushing despair. In an instant, this war stopped being about beating the Rebellion. Horde Prime was going to destroy Etheria to make an example, and Catra… she wasn’t going to let that happen. Too many lives that she cared about lived on that planet.  
So she sold the planet to Horde Prime. She hated doing this. But it would buy them time. She hoped they would forgive her. 

Now, of course, it was a quiet moment deep in the belly of an alien ship. Their new overlord had decided to not separate catra from the captive queen... for now, at least. They could talk without being at each others’ throats. It was strange. Different. New.

“... Glimmer?” 

“What.” It was a flat what. But it didn’t seem angry. Defeated, more like. Maybe Glimmer understood. Maybe she didn’t. But Catra had a very important question. The only question on her mind.

“How’s… how’s Scorpia?”

Glimmer looked at her, wearily. She knew what Catra meant by that question. She answered with a soft smile, remembering what was surely a happier memory from a happier time.  
“They’re twins. Not like a litter. They’re identical. They’ve got your eyes… and her tail. They barely cry, and they’re so strong, already.”

Catra couldn’t help but cry. They were already born. Scorpia was the last one she was with, the last one to…

“They’re all born, now.” 

“Yeah. All sixteen of them. You maniac. Now don’t go giving us more.” 

They shared a laugh at that joke, but the laugh was hollow. “Yeah, that’s. Fair,” Catra said, “so, uh…” 

“She named them after you.” 

Catra blinked.

“Katrina and Patra.”

Catra sobbed. She couldn’t help herself. Everything she’d done, and Scorpia still loved her? She could scarcely believe it. She didn’t deserve it. She never deserved anyone as good as Scorpia. 

She didn’t deserve Glimmer’s comfort, either, and yet, she felt the queen’s arms wrap around her body, holding her close. She couldn’t believe how much softer Glimmer had gotten. Instinctively, she held on. 

Her mask came off, and was discarded somewhere. Her uniform, too. The intimacy wasn’t a prelude to anything - they didn’t want more kittens, after all - but it still felt nice, climbing into one of the beds in this strange room in this strange ship, clinging to a warm body, being comforted, being accepted, being forgiven. 

Double was right. She never wanted to win.  
She wanted this. This was all she’d ever wanted. And she forgot that. Squandered it away.  
No more, Catra thought as she closed her eyes and slowly sank into a weary sleep. 

No more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the glitra shippers were fed this season so I'm feeding you even more. I'm also feeding myself because naked cuddles are my favorite thing. Unparalleled. 10/10 highly recommend, especially if you have a soft gf like Glimmer. which I do. I have a soft gf.
> 
> fun fact abt Scorpia's kids: originally, it was just gonna be one kid, but then I decided that was too unfair to Scorpia, so I gave her a second kid. and then I was so stuck on their names, because literally all the princesses had a theme for their kids' names (I'll tell you the themes for the other litters in the chapters when they're born) but I had no idea what theme would make sense for Scorpia, I literally asked my mom, and you know what she said? 
> 
> "Scorpia would obviously name her kittens after Catra." 
> 
> and I thought that was so absurd at first, but then I came to realize... it's the only thing that makes sense. Of course she would. this is fucking Scorpia. she would.  
So now we have Katrina and Patra. The adorable manticore babies. Actual angels sent from heaven. I love them. I love all the babies, but... gosh, they might be my favorites. 
> 
> Nepeta definitely wins the award for Best Kitra Name, though. I'm extremely proud of myself for that one.


	12. Out of Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summary: everyone realizes Catra is a lesbian fuckboi. Meanwhile, Double finally finds the info they're looking for, and Kyle worries about his friends and his future.
> 
> #having to explain to a 12 year old monarch where babies come from #NOW FEATURING: eggs #kitten fever #ominous cliffhangers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: Congratulations, Moyakite, you absolute galaxy-brained maniac. Repkyle is now officially a thing!
> 
> As for everyone else… thank you for your patience with me! I got caught up with school… and I bought this super old game that was my childhood, and I’ve just been absolutely obsessed with it… but now I think I’m ready to get back into the groove! I noticed some people were confused with me leaping ahead in the future for the intermission, but I hope all that’s been cleared up for now. And I hope you all appreciated the sneak peek. 
> 
> Quick note before we get to the chapter proper: I’ve edited chapter 10. As you might remember, the previous version had a part at the end where DT spilled about Mystacor and Adora, and their cover was blown? Yeah that got messed with. Go back and read Chapter 10 before getting into this one, or else you’ll be confused.

The meeting began with an awkward silence, that lasted for a particularly long time. Adora, Scorpia, Glimmer, and Bow, all knew what this meeting was about, but the others had not a clue, so they stared blankly at the Queen, then to the obviously pregnant Adora, then to the Horde soldier, then back to Glimmer, hoping that she would explain. Glimmer wasn’t sure what to say. And then Netossa speaks up.

"... alright, are you guys telepathically communicating to each other, or is the whole point of this meeting to just stare blankly for a solid half hour?"

And then Adora blurted it out. “I’m pregnant!” and that opened the floodgates. 

“I’m pregnant, too!” shouted Glimmer. 

“Same here!” said Scorpia, “and also I’m not with the Horde anymore because Hordak probably won’t let me keep the babies!” 

“All three of you?” murmured Spinnerella, as the room erupts into similar questions, questions which are quickly answered by the three embarrassed expectant mothers.

And then Huntara speaks up. She asks a question she already knows the answer to.   
"Adora? Whose babies are they?"

“I… well. Um. They’re Catra’s…”

The other princesses take a moment to process that. And then Mermista speaks up. “Was this at Princess Prom?”

Adora stammered. “Abs-absolutely not!” 

“Are you sure? Because you were trailing that girl like a hungry dog, and I could totally believe that you-” 

“Light Hope said it was the night before I left the Horde!” 

“So you _did_ do her at prom!” 

“NO, I DIDN’T!” 

“Then how come you only know it wasn’t at the prom because a creepily all-knowing ancient supercomputer told y-” 

Frosta raised her hand. Already having a bad feeling about this, Glimmer sighed and asked,   
“Yes, Frosta?” 

“What do you mean, ‘do her’? What did Adora do at prom?”

“Nothing!” Adora screeched.   
“So she says,” snarked Mermista.  
“How old are you, again?” asked Huntara.  
“Twelve,” replied Frosta.

“And no one’s told you about se-” Huntara began, but then was interrupted by Netossa.  
“SHUSH! No! She’ll learn when she’s older!”

Then Scorpia spoke up, expressing her own confusion. “wait, what? Back in the Horde, we all took sex ed classes at twelve! Is that weird or something?”

“sex ed?!” Exclaimed Frosta, now beginning to get extremely curious. They could all see it in her eyes.

“I DO NOT WANT TO EXPLAIN TO FROSTA WHERE BABIES COME FROM!” Screamed Glimmer, banging her fist on the table and scaring Scorpia, “PLEASE!”

“No!” Shouted Frosta, “This is important! I want to know how Adora and Catra made babies AT MY PARTY!!!”

“FOR THE LAST TIME, IT WASN’T AT PROM!”

“What wasn’t at prom?”

Every adult in the room suddenly froze in horror, staring at the sweet, innocent, absolutely-a-precious-innocent-baby Flutterina, as she stood in the doorway of the war room, looking around in abject confusion.

Frosta scoffed, “well, APPARENTLY, Adora-”

Perfuma clapped a hand over the princess’ mouth. “Frosta! I don’t think Flutterina needs to know about that right now! Say, what if you two, ah… go outside, and uh, we’ll call you back in when the conversation is-

“What? No! Come on! You’ve let me join in all your other grown up stuff, and you didn’t even care that I was just a kid! Why’s now so different?” 

Flutterina only blinked, playing the part of the very confused child… even though, in reality, Double knew full well what was going on here.

“She has a point,” murmured Scorpia. “Maybe it’d be okay to just… tell her?” 

Perfuma sighed. “I just. Don’t want to be the one to explain it all! It’s… uncomfortable.” 

Frosta looked around the room, saw the other adults looking to the side, trying not to match the young princess’ gaze, none of them wanting to be the one to break Frosta’s trust in them, but at the same time… 

“Well, maybe we could try to-” Glimmer began, but she was interrupted.

“No… no, it’s fine. I get it.” Frosta said. “You’re worried that you’re not letting me be a kid, having me tag along with all this grownup stuff. And besides, even I can tell that Adora’s embarassed even mentioning this stuff to all you grownups! I’ll be in the garden, okay? Just make sure to call me back when the awkward part of this meeting’s over!” 

A mixture of shock and relief washed over the room. Perfuma smiled and nodded, giving a quick apology to the ice princess as she waved goodbye and walked out of the war room, dragging a bewildered Flutterina with her. 

“Are you sure you’re okay with this? They’re leaving you out of something… and it sounds pretty important.” 

“Yeah it’s fine. I trust Glimmer. She’s kinda like my cool big sister. I know she cares.”

Flutterina frowned, but said nothing else, following Frosta to the garden.

\--

“An early report, Double?” Catra murmured, lazily lounging on a couch as she watched the flickering feed on her tablet screen. “Aren’t you supposed to be at the meeting”

“Flutterina and Frosta got kicked out, temporarily! Seems the subject of the meeting turned to, mmm, ‘grownup things’. Things too risque to speak of in front of poor innocent children. ” 

“Yeah, yeah,” the force captain murmured, voice monotone as she scrolled over the text. “Look, we really need to start getting some good inf-” and then what Double said finally clicked for her. “Wait, what?!” 

Double stuck their tongue in an expression of mirth. “Oh yes, kitten. Apparently, the alliance started talking about _that_ sort of thing, particularly certain… acts, involving you and Adora?” 

Catra could barely hide her rage. And her blush. “They. what.” 

“I never realized you were so frisky, kitten! Where’d you even get the time to fraternize with the enemy? I heard them talking about princess prom, but I was there, darling, and unless you’re a very quick girl, I have my doubts you managed-” 

“I-I- I didn’t! Nothing happened at prom!” Catra mewled in complaint, “Ugh, me and Adora... that was before she defected!” Catra sighed, ant took a few breaths, trying to rid her brain of all those old memories of Adora. Thinking about those times hurt. “Look, you’re not supposed to do that sort of thing as cadets. We were breaking the protocols... you won’t tell anyone, right?”

“My lips are sealed, kitten.” Double said with a broad smile.

“Whatever. Why in the world are they even talking about me and her at Princess Prom?” 

“I haven’t got the faintest clue! Found myself running a bit late this meeting, so I couldn’t catch the context of it all, but I did manage to catch something interesting…” 

“oh?”

“Adora’s not looking too good, kitten. You can see the weariness on her face. All her movements are slow. Exhausted, really. And she walks like she’s carrying a massive boulder everywhere she goes. Which she’s effectively doing. Something’s buried itself inside her body, and it’s bloating out her stomach something nasty. Maybe a parasite or something. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was dying…”

“What in the…” Catra murmured, brows furrowed. “You’re sure about this?” 

“That’s what it looks like. I’m not a doctor, though I may play the part from time to time-” 

“That’s fine, I don’t care what she came down with. All that matters is she can’t fight.” Catra could hear herself starting to purr. She suppressed it. “This is excellent news, Double Trouble. If She-Ra’s been weakened, the rebellion is vulnerable. But don’t think your work isn’t done just yet.” 

“Hrm?” 

“You haven’t had a chance to steal their documents, but now they’re all in that meeting. You might have the chance to slip into their rooms and read something before they finish.” 

“Oh, yes… I might even be able to have some fun of my own while I’m at it!”

“Good. get to it.” 

“Right away~”  
\--

“... anything you want to tell them, Queen Glimmer?”

The alliance, sans Frosta, all looked to Queen Glimmer, who was definitely feeling at least a little mortified now. Adora’s gaze was only brief, as she looked to Huntara, and pondered on the tone of voice that the ‘desert rose’ took. Huntara knew something, didn’t she… But what? And how? 

Glimmer sighed, and decided it was time to confess. “... I was, I was also with Catra.”

“What?” 

“I’ve got Catra’s babies, too, okay?!” 

“Same here,” Scorpia confesses.

Perfuma rose from her seat, looking rather sheepish, herself. “So, uh! Haha! I’ve been pregnant for over half a year now, and just now have started to show, and that sounds exactly like what Adora described and it can’t be anyone else, and-!”

Bow’s jaw dropped. “PERFUMA?!”.

“look! A lot happened! It was a patrol, and we were fighting and things got weird, and-”

The poor archer couldn’t take it anymore. Standing up, he shouted, “That’s it! who here HASN'T fucked Catra?!”  
And then he raised his hand. Netossa and Spinerella and Huntara do the same. Swift Wind raised a wing.

and then everyone looked at Mermista, who hadn't raised her hand. Her arms were crossed, and she scoffs. “… you can’t judge me for having the exact same taste in women as the She-Ra.”

“but… Sea Hawk…”

“Uh, Sea Hawk’s my partner? Not my boyfriend. There’s a difference, okay? It’s like a best friend and a husband at the same time, except you don’t make out. Okay? Okay.”

A brief silence, and then the sea princess adds. “Oh, and I’m pregnant, too. Me and Sea Hawk were just gonna deal with it by ourselves, buuuut since it turns out my kid’s gonna have a whole buncha half-siblings, well, whatever.”

Huntara’s face hit the desk. “Does Catra even know that she's singlehandedly impregnated half of the Princess Alliance?”

“No one in the Horde even knows any of us are pregnant. Not even me…” Scorpia murmured.

Netossa held her face in her hands. Spinerella rubbed her girlfriend’s shoulder as a small sign of support. This was going to be a long day…

\--

17/11/1020

Hey, Snugglebug, 

Sucks to hear that you won’t be back soon. I miss you. Can’t say I didn’t see this coming, though. Catra’s really got us all working overtime, huh? Trying to get a leg up on the rebellion. It’s so weird how she’s changed. Don’t tell anyone… but I think the portal did something to her. Or maybe it was Adora leaving. I don’t know. She’s really different. You feel it too, right? Even Hordak’s scared of her.

Oh, and it turns out Scorpia’s gone, too. Me and Lonnie can barely believe it. Scorpia always seemed like the kinda girl who was never going to leave Catra’s side for anything, but a week ago, she went missing on a scouting mission, and get this: Catra’s spy found her in Bright Moon. She’s not even a prisoner or anything! They’re saying she deserted cause she found out she was pregnant and decided the Horde was no place to raise a family, and… hearing that, I’m worried. Because of the clutch. You know they’ll hatch, someday. We both do. It’s not like we can just dump them on the doorstep of the orphanage and hope they don’t turn out as fucked up as we are. It’s not like we can hide them, either. We’re going to be dads, Rogelio. What are we doing out here, risking our lives for some dumb war?

I think I need to tell Lonnie about this. She’s getting promoted soon, and maybe… maybe she’ll know what we can do. I won’t say anything to her without your permission, but I think it might be time. I think they’re getting warmer. 

On happier news, I made some drawings of what I think they might look like. I’ve paperclipped em to this letter. I think I did a pretty good job! I’ve got some ideas for names, but they all kinda suck. How about you?

Anyways, come back soon. And alive. I don’t think I can go on without you.

Always yours,  
Kyle

PS: you know how Lonnie always said that Catra’s just using Scorpia’s loyalty, and really doesn’t give two shits about the poor girl? Well. it looks like that theory’s been shot down. 

I heard loud sobbing from Scorpia’s room the other day. It sounded like Catra. I was gonna knock on the door and ask if she needed anything, but then the door opened and Catra was there, and it looked like she didn’t get any sleep last night. She just shoved me aside and stormed off, but I think there were still tears in her eyes. I think she actually… misses Scorpia. Weird, huh?

\--

“Forget about Catra for a second! We need to focus on the most important part of this meeting!”

The others stared at Frosta, rather confused. At this point, the conversation had shifted far enough from the topic of sex that the young princess could return to her seat at the table, and after a quick kid-friendly explanation for poor Frosta, the meeting quickly turned into an angry debate over the ethics of concealing information about Catra’s children from her, if she has the right to name them, or have custody, or what have you. 

Frosta’s interruption stopped that entire discussion short, and now everyone was curious to know what she thought was the ‘most important part of the meeting.’

“…. EVERYONE’S HAVING KITTENS!!!” she squeed.

Huntara blinked. 

“I don’t get it,” Perfuma said, wondering what’s so important about kittens.

“think about it!” the princess, very much still a child who loves fluffy things, explained to the room of bewildered adults. “One, two, three, four, five… uh, what’s two-to-four times five?”

“ten to twenty?” said Spinnerella, around as confused as the rest of them.

“TEN TO TWENTY KITTENS!!!!” the twelve-year-old screamed, “MAYBE MORE! IMAGINE! So many adorable little fuzzballs! I’m going to have so many little baby siblings!” 

“Wait,” Mermista muttered, “when did I become your mom? I didn’t sign up for this,” but Frosta, lost in the glee of over a dozen baby cat-people, went on,

“They’re probably gonna make little cute lill squeaks whenever they’re hungry, with their itty bitty mouths and their fluffy pawsies and their big old eyes and they’re gonna be so cute, and _ Adora’s are coming any minute now!_”

The room froze in horror at the last statement. Adora was almost due, practically overdue. Suddenly, things just got way more urgent. Adora covered her face with her hands, muttering a string of curses under her breath. 

Frosta, not too lost in the kitten fever to notice the shifted atmosphere, looked around the table with concern. “did I say something wrong?”

Netossa shook her head, rising to her feet. “no. you’re absolutely right. This is the most important part of the meeting. And we need to prepare to bring new life into this world, as quickly as we can.” 

Huntara stood up as well, hands on the table as she spoke gravely. “we can’t let the Horde know about this. If they know that She-Ra is vulnerable, they’ll take the opportunity to strike, without hesitation. She should go in secret, with a small band of our most trusted allies. The rest should stay behind to hold off the Horde.”

Huntara frowned, then cast her gaze across the table, to the former Horde soldier. “Scorpia.”

“Huh?”

“I don’t trust you. But we need all the strength we can get. Can you fight?”

“uh… yeah. I can, but… Adora’s sword is the key to the planet, and you ca- we can’t- “ She sighed. “letting Hordak make another portal is a bad idea. If they somehow catch Adora before she makes it over, she’ll need some backup. I should go with them. To Mystacor.”

\--

_“If they somehow catch Adora before she makes it over, she’ll need some backup. I should go with them. To Mystacor.”_

Flutterina’s extra sharp ears picked up Scorpia’s voice perfectly, even muffled as it was by the great doors of the war room. She’d managed to slip away from Frosta to take a ‘nap,’ and now she carried the fruits of her heist over to her hideaway. It was a journal, likely Scorpia’s. Probably wouldn’t have too much that’s useful, but you never know, right?

However… there was something even juicier. Mystacor. She listened in, ear to the door. Something about healing springs, magical doctors… ah, of course. They’re trying to heal She-Ra. This is very useful information. If Flutterina plays her cards right, she may be able to join in on this mission, giving Catra information on the precise location of the mysterious floating island. 

But for now, it’d be best to make sure Catra knows about this as quickly as possible. The Rebellion would probably catch Flutterina up on the plans when they finish the meeting, so it’s not like she’ll miss out on anything important if she just… naps for a while longer. 

The disguised spy settles down into their secret hideaway, pulls out the tablet, and starts a call with Catra. They’re greeted with an empty room. Catra seems to not be around. 

_"... Ah. not here, Kitten? unfortunate. Must be busy. But it’s no problem with me. You asked me to find some documents while the meeting was still on a strict ‘no children allowed’ basis. Well…_

\--

“Scorpia,” Adora asked, something on her mind, “didn’t you say that Entrapta was exiled?”

“yeah… but nobody comes back from Beast Island. She’s. She’s gone.”

“Who cares?” Bow shouted, “If she’s in trouble, then we have to help her! Besides, it’s just an island. If we know what we’re doing, we can get her back!”

“Rescue an exiled princess, huh?” Huntara murmured, “I’d better come along. No offense, but you’re pretty bad at wilderness survival. You’ll need me.”

“Alright, well, if you think it’s a good idea, Bow, we might need her expertise.” Glimmer said, “I’ll go with Scorpia and Adora to Mystacor. As for protecting our homes…”

With the touch of a button, the hologram map came to life in front of the gathered princesses. Glimmer pointed to two red points in particular, and began to explain her plan. “our scouts have identified these two areas as significant weak points for the Horde, if we strike here…”

\--

All things considered, sneaking into Mystacor was a cinch. Double Trouble had marked a location on the map where a transport could apparently take you right to it. Sure, coming to the island alone was a risk, but this mission required a delicate, quiet touch… something that Catra couldn’t trust anyone but herself to do properly. However, once Catra snuck over to the location of the lift, she was surprised to find that it had no guards posted anywhere. 

Yes, it seems the only security to Mystacor was the fact that no one would suspect this random cliff in the wilderness of having a secret magical lift to a magical floating island full of magical people and magical water. It was far easier than she could possibly imagine! In fact, Catra was about to step onto the lift and go up there ahead of the princesses due to arrive in an hour or so, but at the last minute, she decided against it. 

Sparkles’ aunt was probably expecting them. If she came up now, she’d be caught for sure. In fact, there might even be a mechanism wherein those magic people can tell when someone’s coming up to meet them, and they’ll probably swarm over to wherever the lift decides to drop Catra off. Yeah, it’d be a bad idea to just ride the rock lift. Lucky for Catra that she brought her climbing gear. Feeling around for the stablest, least crumbly part of the glorified magical boulder, she carefully stuck a piton into the rock, tugged on it to make sure it was stable, then stuck a few more pitons in just to make sure she wouldn’t fall, then lay back, letting herself hang suspended on her makeshift hammock, and waited. 

It wasn’t long before the rock began to move, then float. Her quarry had arrived, and they were carrying her right to the hidden sorcerer’s guild. The ride was, she’d have to admit, kind of scary. She was hanging suspended by a hammock and some hastily hammered pitons, and the ground was thousands of feet down. But thankfully, the pitons held, and no one noticed the catgirl hanging off the floating islet (even the one who expected her), and when the rock finally reached its destination, catra was quick and sneaky enough to unhook herself and grab onto the rock of Mystacor proper before the lift slowly drifted its way back down. Catra waited until all the voices had faded away, then clambered up onto the island’s grassy surface, ducking for cover behind the shrubbery. 

The infiltration was a success, and now she was on the island. Next step? Find her spy, and figure out how to capture She-Ra. Maybe studying the powerful first ones tech in the sword could help Hordak with building his secret weapon...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my Beta asked this when I sent the first draft of the chapter, so I'm gonna just clarify something here: ADORA HASN'T GONE INTO LABOR JUST YET. THAT'S NEXT CHAPTER.
> 
> also, to everyone who was so freaking worried about Entrapta, I hope this chapter illuminates for you what my plans with her and Beast Island are!  
(god christ almighty, Beast Island with no Adora is gonna be a trip...)


	13. The Mists of Mystacor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catra’s past catches up to her.
> 
> #kittens #feels #water birth #it was at that moment that catra knew: she fucked up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Missed me?

“What are you doing in the bushes, silly kitty? Don’t you know everyone’s gone to bed now?”

Catra stared blankly at the small moth-girl standing before her, leaning over in such a convincingly childlike manner.  
“I was waiting for you, ‘Flutterina’. Can you give me any new information? What exactly… is Adora’s sickness? And is it contagious?” 

“Well, given how everyone was crowding around her all day, apparently, it’s not.” the moth murmured, sitting down and cocking their head in thought. 

“Wonderful. I won’t have to sanitize that damn sword when I steal it.” Catra muttered, adjusting herself so she could be sitting down, too. It’s been a long day, and she’s honestly feeling a bit itchy and tired. “So”, she asked, “Wheres Adora?”

“Oh, her? Well, soon after we landed, her sickness got worse.” The mothgirl chirped.

“Worse?”

“Oh yes. She started bleeding some sort of odd clear liquid” 

“... That’s not bleeding.”

“Well, it was something, but that’s not the point. See, very soon after that, everyone panicked, and then she started screaming like she was in terrible, agonizing pain.Real ghastly sight, honestly... And then we had to rush her over to the healing springs.”

Flutterina was hoping Catra would catch on to what she was implying, here. Catra didn’t. “And she’s there?” the catgirl muttered.

“Oh yes. And unless you want to kill her, I’d advise waiting until the springs work their magic.” 

Catra’s ears flicked. Her pupils narrowed. “What- wait till she’s cured?! Screw that,” the feline growled, “You get the sword. I’m coming for Adora.”

Flutterina blinked. This wasn’t what she had expected. “... alright, Kitten. You’re more ruthless than I thought you were. Hrm. Suppose you and her weren’t good friends after all...” they got up, moving to slowly walk away.

“Excuse me?”

Flutterina turns to look at her, and smiles. “Weren’t you listening? She’s horribly sick. If you don’t let the springs cure her, she could die...” 

And then she shrugs, abandoning the childlike demeanor entirely. “It’s not my concern, of course. So carry on with your plan.” 

Double’s words gave Catra pause. Double hoped that it would convince her to stop this, rethink the plan, something, but… it didn’t. In the blink of an eye, Catra was gone.

… They probably should have told Catra. No implications, no sly turns of phrase, just said it outright. That Adora wasn’t actually sick. All subtlety was lost on the determined feline, and now she was running headfirst into a very very bad situation.

See, when Flutterina asked Queen Glimmer about Adora’s sickness, she was rather quickly corrected on her misconception. Adora was perfectly healthy, just expecting. The problem is that the due date was coming up quick, and they wanted to get her to a safe place before, er… whatever happens to mammals when they’re about to give birth? Double Trouble didn’t know much about the reproductive anatomy of other species, and frankly? They didn’t care. All that mattered was Adora would be attended to at all times by an incredibly cautious group of sorcerers, and Catra needed to be aware of exactly what was going on.

Unfortunately, the due date was tonight. Adora was nothing if not punctual, and Catra would probably need some support if she wanted to pull off this terrible idea. So they ran over to the scene of the crime.

That is to say, they ran to the hot springs. For some reason, these air-breathers decided it would be ideal to try and give birth in a heated pool of water, even though they had to specifically train Adora for this procedure? Mammals are strange.

They arrived to find the door to the baths closed, with Queen Glimmer standing by it. She seemed tense, and as Flutterina wandered over to her, confusion evident on her face, the pink-haired woman explained: 

“Aunt Casta’s in there with her. So’s the doctor. I… I couldn’t.” the queen hugged her body, a clear sign of insecurity. “It was a bit much, yanno? Haha… it’s not gonna be easy for me, huh?” 

Double Trouble had no fucking clue what the Queen meant by that. 

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll probably be fine.” Glimmer said with a smile… and then something caught her eye. Her smile vanished, and in the blink of an eye, so did Glimmer. 

The next sound Double heard was a very familiar yowl. 

Whelp. They tried to warn her. Double Trouble fled the scene.

\----

Catra was SURE she was being perfectly quiet! There was no way Glimmer could’ve caught her like that! 

And yet, the harsh impact of Catra’s back hitting the hard dirt was evidence otherwise. Her reflexes still keen, Catra managed to duck out of the way of the queen’s sparkly punch, but when she tried to retaliate, her claws swiped at the sparkling imprint where Glimmer used to be. 

And then she got kicked from behind, knocking her onto her knees. A boot pressed into her shoulderblades, and while Catra couldn’t turn around, she knew whose boots they were.  
“There’s nothing too low for you… is there, Catra?” 

Catra snarled, rolling over. The sudden shift knocked aside Glimmer’s foot, and the princess was caught off-balance. She lunged forward, claws extended, but they sliced through the air as the queen was gone. She really wished Glimmer would just fight fair for once.

"you think you've got any right to be here!? now? after you left her?!"

Glimmer’s fist shone like the moons above as it connected with Catra’s jaw, knocking her to the ground yet again. Her pupils narrowed to slits as she shook away the literal stars that blocked her vision.

"the hell you talking about, princess?” she growled, her claws finally connecting with the queen’s clothes, ripping a long gash through that cape. “She's the one who left me. Left me for your happy little band of rebels!" 

“HAPPY?” A flash of sparks, a fist connecting with her side, knocking the wind out of her lungs. She couldn’t keep up, not like this. Another flash, another strike.  
“HAPPY, YOU BITCH,” Glimmer’s voice was as harsh as her light, “YOU’RE THE REASON MY MOTHER’S GONE!”

Another hit connected with her jaw, her mask ripping off her face as she went tumbling to the floor a third time. Her mask was gone. Her jaw ached. She flashed a bitter smile.

"yeah, yeah, sparkles. hey, didn't you lose your dad to the war, too?"

"YOU LITTLE-!" 

Catra’s vision blurred. She could barely see the queen raising a hand - probably a fist - and she could see her mask in Glimmer’s other hand. But Glimmer stopped short. The mask clattered to the ground. She turned. 

"wait- ADORA, NO!"

Catra’s ears twitched as she heard it. A familiar voice, a familiar chant.

"For the honor of Grayskull!"

-

And then time seemed to stop.

In front of her was She-Ra, shining like she always did... but kind of bigger. In the midsection. And holding two tiny little kittens in one arm. 

Glimmer panics and teleports over. "You should be in the baths! Adora, is-” she stops cold, looking at the small furred things. “... Are those...?" she asks, reaching over to take the mewling kittens. Adora lets her.  
"Get them someplace safe, okay?" 

Glimmer doesn't need to be told twice, and teleports away. Catra's stopped cold. She has no fucking clue what's going on. She tries to recover her cool, and communicates her confusion in an aloof way:  
"Aren't you supposed to be bedridden?" 

For a moment, Adora seems confused as well. "what? oh. right. that's the excuse we gave."

Catra blinks, rubbing the side of her jaw as she rises to her feet. The excuse?

"Look, Catra,” Adora begins to say, enunciating each word with care, preparing herself both mentally and emotionally. “I don't care if they're yours. I'm not letting you anywhere near them."

"if they're mi- what are you TALKING about?!" Catra shouts, though she already has an inkling of what the answer is. 

"you remember the night before I got promoted to Force Captain.... right?" 

"what... of course I do, what does that have to do with... no. no way, no, no, no, no, no-"  
Adora simply picks her up by the shirt. She doesn't resist. 

"Adora-"  
"go home, Catra. you've caused enough damage."

\--

“Wait.”

She-Ra pauses. There, running over, is Castaspella. 

“... Casta, she-”

“I know. And I don’t think I can ever forgive her for it, but look.”

She-Ra looks into Catra’s eyes. Catra isn’t quite sure what emotion they’re seeing painted on her face. Some sort of anguish, surely. How long has it been? How long was Adora carrying her children? When was she going to learn about this? Catra thinks about all the times she nearly killed Adora… 

She shouldn’t be crying. Adora hurt her. Ruined her. Left her behind. Catra’s stronger than this. She’s too strong to care about people. Too strong to be a mother. 

“Please,” she mewls, not sure where that voice came from. It’s so pitiful. She hates it. She feels so weak and she hates it. She-Ra drops her. Pity. This is pity, isn’t it?

“... she deserves to see them. At least for a little while.” 

That voice wasn’t Adora’s. It wasn’t Castaspella’s. It wasn’t Glimmer’s. Catra looks up, unsure if her eyes are even telling her the truth. “... what are you doing here?”

Scorpia looks hurt, hurt on a level that Catra’s never seen before…

… no, that’s not true. Catra’s seen that exact face before. In the Fright Zone. a stun baton pointed at her neck. Betrayal. Something about that hurts. Everything about it hurts.

“Catra…” the woman chokes out, her claws slowly clicking together in the way she always clicks her claws together when she’s nervous. “I couldn’t. I couldn’t do anything else, I-”

“Catra, you fucked up.” Adora muttered, changing back. Catra looks over her body. Seeing all these details that became familiar to her, seeing them in a whole new life. Adora’s been turning softer, clearer, her hair frizzier and drier. Catra thought it was just her new life in Bright Moon. it wasn’t. Her belly seems bloated, far larger than Catra remembered the last time they met, back when Adora was shackled to a pole… oh god. Back then, she was…

“I’m going to fetch Glimmer. You two make sure she doesn’t run off.” Adora mutters, before walking away. Her voice is harsher. Bitter. Did… did Catra do that? 

Catra isn’t sure what to do. A magic circle is set around her. A cage. Slowly, she moves down from her kneeling position, slowly laying down on the ground. She looks up to her captors. 

“Are… are you guys capturing me, or kicking me out?”

“I’m not really sure,” Scorpia says, claw rubbing the back of her neck, “I mean, I hope you’ll stick around to see…”

Catra probably should’ve been paying attention to what Scorpia was saying. She should’ve, but she didn’t. Thoughts swarmed in. Memories of Adora, the image of those squirming balls of fluff… her kittens… She was talking with the sorceress, right? Something about the princess Frosta?

"...right, because there's five princesses with Catra's kids..."

Wait.

Wait, what did Scorpia just say?

"And magicat kittens are born in groups of 2-4," the other woman adds.

Catra blinks, looking up at the both of them, eyes wide, trying to catch up with this conversation again.

"Right! So somewhere between that number," Scorpia says with finality, fidgeting with her claws again as she matched Catra’s gaze, "... wow."

Catra's ears are flat against her head. The cogs are turning in her head. She has a bad feeling she knows what they were talking about, but that’s… ridiculous… that can’t be right.

"Uh...Catra?"

“Wh-what… what number?” she asked, her voice shaky.

“Oh, weren’t you listening! There’s five princesses pregnant right now, and since the kittens come in litters of two to four, that means a total of like, ten to twenty kittens!”

Ten to twenty- what.

“Tha-that... My kittens…?”

“Yep!” Scorpia chirped, way too happy to be telling Catra this horrifying news.

“WAS ANYONE GOING TO TELL ME ABOUT THIS?!” She screamed.

\------

Adora was back. It had been some time. Catra trapped inside the magical cage, listening to Scorpia explain everything. Way more information than she should’ve given the enemy… but that’s just the sort of woman Scorpia is, huh? 

Not that Catra could retain any of the information. Or make any use of it. Not in the state she was in. And when Adora walked towards her, holding her kittens… their kittens… Catra’s thoughts went blank.

Adora kneeled down. Catra could see them closer now, through the sheen of the magical barrier.

“Melendy. Mara.” Adora said, introducing them simply.

Catra wants to complain, say that she never had a say in what their names would be, but the words hang on her tongue, and she can’t bear to release them. Melendy and Mara are beautiful names, and she can’t think of anything better. 

They’re small. Hopelessly small. Their ears are floppy and folded against their little heads, they have tiny little manes, just barely longer than the rest of their fur. They nuzzle blindly in Adora’s arms, rooting around her chest and mewling so pitifully. Melendy got Adora’s signature blond hair, while Mara was much darker, especially around the mane.

Catra can’t bear to look away. They’re so small, so awkward…  
… she smells herself on them. She smells Adora on them.  
She feels herself crying all over again. 

She can’t lose- she can’t lose again. No. please. She reaches out to touch them. So helpless. So perfect and beautiful.  
“Can- can I take Melendy with me?”

Adora pulls them away. She gives Catra a look. It’s a look of pure hatred. Catra remembers what she did to deserve that. But she’s stubborn. She chokes.  
“Please.”

She can’t reach beyond the circle. Her claws scrape uselessly against the magic barrier, arcane light obscuring her view of Adora. Pathetic. She’s begging, now.  
“Adora. Please…”

“I can’t let you hurt them, Catra.”

And that’s when her heart breaks in two.  
Win the battle, lose the war. She clawed her way back to her rightful place at the top… and for what?  
For children she can’t ever hold.

She looks at Scorpia. Scorpia has her kids, too. Right? She looks at Glimmer. She remembers Glimmer. Who would’ve thought that just one night could have...  
Who else? Who else is there? Catra can’t remember.

She can’t think of anyone who would trust her.

The world turns fuzzy. She can’t tell if it’s because of the tears. She collapses. 

What’s the point of fighting anymore?


	14. Poisoned Rain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of false alarms, followed by a giant centipede.
> 
> #you know that thing in videogames where you find an abandoned area and there’s voice logs conveniently strewn around the place which explain what happened there? #this chapter was way worse in the first draft #Beast Island Episode #Guest Appearance by Catra

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last of the chapters that I had partly written ahead of time, so I had to take a moment to think about where I was headed with this fic and what sort of tone I wanted to maintain with it. 
> 
> Pay no attention to the missing tags.
> 
> ps: you're welcome

_“Hey there, monster! You found me. Please make it quick.”_

Bow frowned. He pressed the button to play the next recording. 

“Princess Prom, 5 PM. I’m not actually at the Kingdom of Snows yet, but I’m just too excited about this new recorder! I can’t wait to-”

Click. 

The recorder fell to the ground, a few leaves crunching under the impact.

“Well. that seems to be the end of that,” Huntara muttered, looking around the alcove. It shows signs of an eccentric scientist struggling to bring in as many spare parts as she can in a desperate attempt to build some sort of workshop, but it clearly hasn’t been inhabited in a while. “So! Turns out there was a sixth princess who got knocked up by Catra. What’s that make it? Twelve to twenty-four kittens?” she laughed at her own joke. Neither of her two companions laughed back. Swift Wind stamped his hooves nervously, while Bow simply stared down at the stony floor. Rocks. It had to be rocks. The one thing that doesn’t leave footprints.

“... Hey.” Huntara said, gently shaking Bow’s shoulder, “come on. Let’s go home before they get us, too.” 

“Ye-yeah, come on… let’s just get out of here. Please?” Added the horse, who seemed to get more and more nervous as time went on.

“I’m not leaving empty-handed.”

“You really wanna find a dead princess and her three kittens?” Huntara squeezed his shoulder, urging him to give up the chase.

“Maybe?! At least we can give them a proper ceremony! It’s what she deserves.”

“You know you’re gonna hate what you find.”

“Yeah. I know. We just... We just have to find her. And then we’ll go home, and- and maybe if I don’t look at it hard enough, it’ll be okay! I can just pretend it’s someone else, something else, just. Just some cargo we picked up and and and-”

Bow can’t help it. He falls to the ground and starts sobbing. Huntara gets it. Really. She does. But she’s worried the three of them will meet the same fate as Princess Entrapta if they don’t keep moving. She can already hear the faint skittering noise of hundreds of small predatory pests.

She moves closer, to pick him up, carry him, shush him so his crying doesn’t attract trouble…   
And then she hears it. In the eerie din of the rest of the island, it would fade into the distance, but in this cave, it’s voice echoes.

“Ya hear that?”

It sounds like mewling.   
It sounds like...

“Sounds like mom’s still alive.” 

“Are you sure? But, the recording…”

“Didn’t the rebellion think she was dead before, and then it turned out she was just working with the Horde?”

“Well, yeah, but-” 

“Well, it looks like she managed to cheat death again. You wanted to keep looking, right? Well, let’s keep looking.”

Reluctantly, Bow nodded, taking Huntara’s hand. Swift Wind stamped his hooves nervously as he saw them moving. “I- I dunno about this… I’m just gonna stand guard outside.”

“No problem, horsie,” Huntara said, before she and the archer turned and walked into the darkness…

\--

“So,” the chipper voice of a child cries out, long after everyone else has gone to sleep, “I feel like I should’ve been a bit more clear….”

Catra looks up, seeing Flutterina there. Fortunately for the feline, her new captors had given her some leniency. Her magical cage now included a moderately comfy cot, and given that she wasn’t about to run away with the kittens, Scorpia - ever so loyal and sweet and kind - had convinced Adora to let her hold them for tonight. Let her have this much. 

The kittens were sleepy right now, having recently been fed. Soft and tiny and so perfect, Catra felt like she could cry. She had an entirely undeserved sense of pride over the fact that _ she made these,_ they’re _hers_, and it almost feels like they knew it right from the start, nuzzling into her chest, tiny heartbeats next to hers, quiet and content and safe. It was their reaction to Catra that really convinced the princesses that they’d be safe with her tonight.

And they _would_ be safe. Catra would make sure of that, curling her body around them protectively, almost on instinct nuzzling them and licking them clean (a bit of Mystacor’s water had still clung to them). Catra was still worried, of course. Still tense. How could she not be? Holding two newborns for a few hours wasn’t nearly enough to prepare a woman for motherhood, and the very thought of such a responsibility to the children of _her enemy_ threatened to destroy everything Catra had worked for. And Catra wasn’t sure what to do. She wasn’t sure what she wanted, and--oh, right. Flutterina’s still here.

She looked up at the moth-girl, ear twitching as she snarked, “a parasite or something?” 

“Oh, give me a break, kitten,” the shapeshifter snarked, shifting into their true form, “do you really expect me to understand the finer points of how you mammals reproduce?”

“Have you really never seen a pregnant woman before?”

“Have you?” 

Catra stopped. She opened her mouth, then closed it. The answer had to be no, honestly. Or… well, she’d never seen a pregnant woman and recognized her as such. “Fair- fair point, I guess.” 

“Anyway, embarrassing blunders aside… it may be a bit difficult for me to get you out of there. I can change into the sorceress, but I can’t exactly use her magic-” 

“Don’t bother.” 

“Hrm?” They asked, raising a brow.

Catra curled tighter around her children, encircling them entirely as they slept, safe and sound, against her steady-beating heart. “I…”

“You could take them with you, you know…” Double said, their expression blank as they watched her.

“It’s too risky,” she muttered. “Impossible, really. We’re not supposed to have kids. Too much of a liability. I’d have to give them up. I couldn’t…” 

“So… are you firing me?”

“Nah. We can keep going. If you’re up to the challenge, you could… be me. And Hordak wouldn’t have to know a thing.”

Double Trouble’s ears perked at this. They weren’t sure about all this before. Their cash kitten seemed to be backing out. But now… now, they had an even more interesting role to play. It’d be a challenge, moving from rebellion to horde and back again, but it was a challenge they relished. 

“Gladly. Do you have a plan?”

\--

Huntara groaned, beating away yet another goddamn pooka. Their search was frustrating and fruitless. Those voices in the cave? turned out to be a bizarre subterranean carnivorous plant, which sends out audio recordings of its past victims in order to lure in new prey. Huntara was ready to conclude that Entrapta must’ve fallen prey to the plant… except for the fact that the only reason Huntara even knew what these plants were doing was because Entrapta herself said so, apparently having examined the plants from a safe distance while they silently recorded her observations. She even said, “Currently, these specimens seem too dangerous and large to replace my missing voice recorder”, so it was unlikely that she got caught by them… meaning that they were back at square one, knowing Entrapta had to be around here somewhere, but having no clue where to look, and no prints to track.

Beast Island was truly a nightmare to navigate, and it only got worse the deeper they delved into the woods. They searched high and low for signs of Entrapta, and found nothing but ravenous monsters looking to take a bite out of them. Not to mention the horse was getting more and more agitated. Some sort of sound only he could hear was getting to him.

At the third false positive that evening (what sounded like Entrapta herself turned out to just be more voice-recording plants), they were ready to give up and just leave something at the beach to help the lost princess sail back home,   
when something found them.

Huntara’s first warning sign was the flashes of light that flew past her head. She was just barely able to notice one of them hitting a huge monster in the face before it lumbered away, apparently deciding that now, the hunt was more trouble than it was worth. 

She looked back to the source of the magic bolt… a sorcerer, looking as ragged as one would expect a denizen of this blasted island to be. His beard was unkempt, he didn’t wear a shirt, and he had a staff made out of gods-know-what. He seemed friendly enough, so Huntara lowered her weapon… but then archerboy yelped. 

Turns out he recognized the sorcerer.   
Turns out, the sorcerer was the long-lost King Micah, thought to be dead.   
_Well,_ Huntara thought, as the archer introduced her to the king, introduced himself as Glimmer’s friend, introduced the horse as She-Ra’s noble steed, and did his best to explain the entire situation without mentioning that Queen Angella was dead, and her daughter (his daughter, too) was pregnant with the children of a horde soldier, _even if we don’t find Entrapta, this mission won’t be a waste… _

Fortunately, he actually seemed to recognize the science princess. As soon as Bow described her long prehensile hair, the king nodded, and said, “Oh… that tinkering girl? Yeah, I know where she is… more or less.”

He motioned for the group to follow, taking them away from the island’s center, through the tangled jungle and past nests of predatory creatures, until, finally, they arrived at a particularly horrid-looking beach.

“She moves around a lot, but she’s got a territory,” he begins to explain as he leads them around the massive hulks of ruined ships that seemed a bit too modern to be First Ones tech. “This is where the Horde tends to dump their ships, so it’s her favorite place to hunt for scrap… we just have to keep walking around until-“

And then he stops. Bow, not anticipating the abrupt stop, runs into his back, stumbling backwards rather awkwardly. There’s a silence. Huntara raises a brow. “Until…?”

Micah points at what seems to be the footprint of some sort of massive bug. “...That. That’s her.”

“Uh,” Bow starts, voice threatening to crack, “are you sure that’s Entrapta? Seems a little big.”

“Oh yeah. Trust me.”

Huntara figured out what he meant right away. “She figured out how to ride one of these things?”

“Yeah… riding. Let’s go with that,” muttered the lost king. They’d approached the massive prints now, and Huntara knelt down while the boys scanned the horizon. 

“It’s fresh,” she murmured, noting how close it was to the beach, and how the waves hadn’t yet washed it away, “and it seems like they were headed that way…” She pointed in a direction towards the forest, before realizing her slightly pedestrian mistake. “... assuming, of course, that I know what the front end of these prints looks like.”

“Naw, you got it,” the king said, confirming Huntara’s observations. “This would be about the time she goes back into the forest, anywa-“

But before they could set out in search of the source of those tracks, the ground shook, as something massive seemed to take notice. 

Before they could find it, it found them.

Its arthropoid head emerged first, large antennae skewed to the sides and curling backwards like some sort of battering ram, eight eyes clustered together in groups of four on either side of its head, so close together that, really, they felt like two big eyes. These eyes seemed to narrow in on the group, and the creature advanced. First, one massive foot stepped out from the undergrowth, its touch unusually dainty… then another. Then another. 

Huntara realized that this thing was like some sort of gargantuan centipede, dozens of legs arranged in lines along a segmented body, each one perfectly calibrated to step in just the same place as the foot in front. How long was this thing? She had no clue. It seemed to stretch on forever. Maybe its tail end was parked on the other side of the island. ... Actually, that's probably an exaggeration. It's probably just 500 meters long, which is still absurdly huge.

It crawled out from the undergrowth towards the four of them. Bow drew his bow, Huntara readied her spear, Swift Wind prepared to take flight... and then a hatch opened on its head. And Bow gaped in shock as an all-too-familiar figure peeked out, twin lavender pigtails moving as though they were a part of her body.

“... Oh, hi down there! You’re… Bow, right?”

Micah simply smirked at his companions. He hadn’t raised his staff at all. He knew exactly what was behind this fearsome leviathan.  
“Told ya.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's kind of funny, but even though I initially wrote out the first draft of this chapter before S4... I didn't really need to change it much at all. My original conception of Beast Island as a place where a bunch of old First Ones tech had mutated into terrifying monsters was surprisingly on the mark. I just had to switch the foliage from normal jungle to toxic waste dump, add in Micah and Swift Wind, and then include the creepy droning noise. I'd even predicted Entrapta commandeering a robotic mount, though... as you can see, I'd given her something way bigger than a simple power armor mech.
> 
> The biggest changes to this chapter are way more recent, and are a result of me deciding I seriously needed to tone down the angst before it overtook what's meant to be an equal balance of angst and silly.
> 
> Oh, and I had to split the chapter into two. Never did I think I would be pulling a Deathly Hallows, but here we freaking are.


End file.
